I would appreciate some clues on this plant. Seen in a garden in Quito, Ecuador (2800 masl). It looks to me as if it should be Heliconia. Many thanks in anticipation.
Did you touch it at all? What were the leaves like? Could it be a bromeliad, perhaps Aechmea spp. or Tillandsia spp.? The bracts on the Heliconia spp. I see open up more.
Thanks for your insights. No I didn't touch it and cannot offer more info than you can see in the pix. It must have been one of those occasions when I knew that I was seeing something new and took a few quick pix to study later. More detail would have been very useful! There seem to be large bracts in the LH image.
Thanks Daniel. Yes, following thanrose's suggestions I am edging towards Tillandsia confinis. Support from you both is much appreciated!
My comments are just because you got me interested, not because I know anything about this. Have you come across this detailed comparison of Tillandsia confinis and Tillandsia confertiflora? Bromeliads in Australia - Tillandsia confinis The was a Botany Photo of the Day feature on T. confertiflora: Tillandsia confertiflora - Botany Photo of the Day
Thanks Wendy! Confusion certainly does reign! My pix seem to show vestiges of purple flowers and so I am now inclining more towards T. confertiflora. But then T. confinis minor is a synonym for confertiflora. I seem to have stepped into a boiling cauldron of views and think that the time is now ripe to retire (gracefully or not). Thanks again for the lead, very interesting.
