My first thoughts were the same as yours, Yong, until I saw the size. I can't tell what size your pot is, but it looks bigger than any A. recurvata hybrid I've seen.

I don't have A. pimenti-velosoi so I'm not sure how big it can get (Padilla says 12-18"), but the inflorescence does resemble that. The only thing is it's native to Brazil, not costa Rica. Same with A. seideliana, another similar-looking species.

Hi udo69 - Uncle Derek says that there is an Ae. hybrid called 'Pie' which is often confused with and sold as Ae. pimenti-velosoi.

I bought a plant named pimenti-velosoi but it was later identified by one of our knowledgable brom club members as Ae. Pie.

It grows to about 1/2 metre tall, even taller when in flower as the flowers are held well clear of the foliage and quite different to the pic. shown on the FCBS site.

Maybe this could have been used to cross with Ae. recurvata to produce the plant you have, who knows? Just a thought. Unfortunately I don't have a pic.

All the best, Nev.

Hi Lisa and Nev,

Thank you for the comment.

Lisa. Pot size is 6 inches. Plant is about 1 foot tall that's very big compared to A.recurvata. It looks close to Ae.pimenti-velosoi but i'm not sure about Ae.seideliana.

Nev. I think it's not Ae.Pie. I do not have Ae.Pie. In FCBS website, Pie's flower is above it's foliage but my plant's flower is sunken in the center. Spines are also bigger than Pie.

The attachment is Ae. recurvata x pimenti-velosoi in 5 inches pot. plant is about 4-5 inches tall.
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Cheers
Yong

No one thinks its one of the covata's?

Hi HDD,

Ae. covata might be my plants. I don't have those plants. How big is it?

Cheers
Yong

Ae. Covata is a hybrid of comata x recurvata. That was my first thought until I saw the size, HDD. I have the one that Uncle Derek is calling Comata Too, and it is fairly small, maybe 6" tall. Apparently there is another form, but it doesn't have the sunken inflorescence.

I've tried crossing a number of larger Aechmeas to Ae. recurvata v. benrathii, and the offspring have all been fairly small, none as big as Yong's plant. It is possible that another form of recurvata might produce larger hybrids, though. Whether they'd still have the sunken inflorescence is another question.

At any rate, it doesn't seem to match any of the Aechmea species native to Costa Rica, so I'd say that part is wrong.

Here is a link that might be useful: Uncle Derek says: Aechmea Covata

Below are the FCBS search results for Costa Rican Aechmeas. None of them are in subgenus Ortgeisia, which is endemic to S.E. Brazil. Whether your plant is a species or hybrid, Yong, it certainly has that ortgeisioid look.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aechmea species of Costa Rica

Thank Lisa for the information, I have the same though as yours. There is no subgenus Ortgeisia in Costa Rica. I think that might be a wrong information from the trader.

At my first glance at this plant, I though it was a hybrid. I argued with the trader about it. He said it was a real species he got from USA. I didn't think that. He sold this plant as Ae.sp. He got so many plants from Garry's collection almost from Mexico. Are there any subgenus Ortgeisia in Mexico? I think there is only a few Aechmea native to Mexico.

Now I still think that this plant is Ae.recurvata hybrid and I don't know what parents to make that such a big plants.

Cheers
Yong

Yong, according to the article in the link, "all the species come from a fairly restricted area in South east Brazil".

Here is a link that might be useful: Ortgiesia