DD0714 Deuterocohnia brevifolia ssp. chlorantha now Cultivar status.
by Derek Butcher, July 2014
In 2012 we saw ‘Little Marj’ registered in the Bromeliad Cultivar Register and details can be read on the BinA website (click HERE) or the BCR http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php .
In 2013 we saw the Doctoral Dissertation on the genus Deuterocohnia by Nicole Schuetz where the old Abromeitiella genus was finally laid to rest as being within Deuterocohnia.
The species D. Brevifolia was redefined and it would appear that the subspecies chlorantha of Schultze-Motel has finally bitten the dust. I rather liked this subspecies because it is widely grown in California and Australia. I first saw this form at the place of Dutch Vandervort from near Los Angeles, California in 1996 and was lucky enough to get a couple of pieces that survived quarantine. Moreover, it has never been propagated from seed, as far is known, but by offsets and as such can claim cultivar status. Each plant is on average, 2cm diam and each leaf is green with scattered lepidote on the upper face with about 10 bristles each side. While slow growing it can form quite large mounds in large shallow pots. While in nature you will find the species growing on rocks it seems quite happy growing on a minimum of soil in cultivation. This is now registered under the name Deuterocohnia ‘Chlorantha’.
