Hi Nev....my guess:

1) fasciata cv Ribia. I have one of these, and it was tagged as this; yet I can find no reference to a registration by this name, or

2) Ae Sangria...maybe - which is registered.

and....I realise Ribia when written on an aged label could very well have meant to be Rubra; but I also bought a Rubra from the same seller at the same time. It looked/looks different to me. I cannot remember what he said of the supposed Ribia - but he is a knowledgeable grower I believe.

Nev,

I can't help you but it sure is a nice looking Aechmea.

Rick

Hi Nev,

This is one I bought a couple of years ago as Ae. fasciata v. purpurea - pic taken not long after purchase:
{{gwi:517111}}

It looks a bit different now having grown out where I have it - I'll get a new pic later in the morning after the sun comes up - but as Shane said with rubra / rubia, it looks a bit different, even given the wide variation you can get with a 'normal' clone of fasciata in slightly differing conditions.

You see quite a few different looking plants listed on eBay as fasciata v. purpurea ... aha, I think the seller I bought mine from has a few different clones. I'll see if I can find his details and email them to you. He has been spot on with other info I've requested, and he might have some more info on these plants.

Cheers, Paul

Hi Nev,

This is my Ae. fasciata v. purpurea taken this morning, approx. 2 years after the shot above and just after it has finished flowering. For comparison - hope this helps.
{{gwi:517112}}

Cheers, Paul

Hi again everyone,

Here's another pic, this time with Ae Fasciata 'Purpurata'(now in flower) for colour comparison.

Another thing, I can't find Ae Fasciata 'Purpurata' in the FCBS Photo Index, so can anyone tell me if this is the correct name?

Ae Fasciata 'Purpurata'

{{gwi:517113}}

All the best, Nev.

Aechmea fasciata var. purpurea (Guillon) Mez?

Attached is a link to an article UD wrote about Adda Abendroth on fcbs. He quotes her with regard to Ae. fasciata (first red section in the original) and I just copied it in here FYI.

"....Aechmea fasciata is a common plant these days but only because of careful selection and breeding in Europe over many many years. We still grow the 'small' form of Aechmea fasciata var. purpurea as mentioned in the following paragraph. I quote from a letter from Adda on June 17th 1968.

"Years ago Dr. Oeser sent me some A. fasciata seed from Germany. Several plants raised from it flowered and put their wild sisters to shame. Mature plants are about twice as big, clad in a real snow-dress in winter, and have a larger and richer spike and more simultaneous flowers. The flower bracts are slightly curled. It is our light-green variety plus a successful beauty treatment. Our light-green form is faithful as to shape and size and habits. It blooms in early Spring, or a little later, sparingly. The plants grow on tree trunks or branches in virgin forest. The colonies are not large, to 3-5 shoots.

Another variety has dark green leaves, sometimes tinged with red. Size about the same as the light-green form but not so even, colonies somewhat larger. Habitat the same.

The third form appears growing on nearly naked branches of old trees, mostly single rosettes 20-30cm in diameter. The colour is rosy, shape nice and even. This form, when planted in shade (tied to a branch or a trunk) has darker and longer leaves. The rosy pink seems to develop only high up in the trees, exposed to sun and wind.

The fourth is the variety purpurea which has wine-red leaves. Habit like the dark-green form. In deep shade the leaves get very long and fall over. The red is almost black making a striking contrast with the white bands. This is more common than the total of the other three."....."

Here is a link that might be useful: Adda Abendroth article on fcbs