Tillandsia Anwyl Zebra Stripes Click thumbnails for full size, scaled to a new window.
Tillandsia Anwyl Zebra Stripes
cv. of T. scaposa registered by Andrew Flower, NZ, in 2019.
From BCR ... "Mature blooming rosette to 9cm. high. Grey-green, slightly twisted, needle-like leaves with scurf missing in "stripes" of dark green pigment. Normal T. scaposa inflorescence of exserted, tubular mauve flowers, surrounded by blushing salmon pink inner leaves. Selected from 5 cross-banded seedlings in a batch of 436 parented by crossing T. scaposa plants originally sourced (as "T. kolbii") in 2000 from Bird Rock Tropicals, California to Anwyl Bromeliads, New Zealand. Appears to be a random vegetative sport from seed as subsequently the breeder crossed 2 highly-banded grex siblings of T. 'Anwyl Zebra Stripes'and none of the 150 seedlings raised had any cross-banding. This outcome appears unlike a recessive gene pattern (for cross-bands)."
Andrew Flower 2010 scaposa "Zebra Stripes"
Andrew Flower ... (with reference to T. (ionantha) 'Zebrina' photos.) "Thanks Steve - nice photos of a nice plant! It has similar "variegations" to a couple that popped up here in a Tillandsia scaposa population. I think your plant is superior though!
The BCR description of T. Zebrina says it has silver cross-banding, and I think this is a bit of a misnomer because if you look closely you see that the plants actually have heavily scaled leaves with irregularly occurring sections where the trichomes have failed to develop - consequently leaving a green patch of hairless skin (so to speak!). I think the same protein-misfiring is going on in the your 'Zebrina' and my 'Zebra Stripes' plants. It doesn't see to fit the pattern you might expect from a recessive gene, because banding doesn't occur when I cross different clones of Zebra Stripes.
Origins: I imported 100 "T. kolbii" from Pam Koide in 2000, and cross pollinated them to collect seed. From that I raised 436 seedlings: 2 had high-level banding, 1 had moderate banding and 2 had low banding. I crossed the 2 high-level banding plants and raised 150 seedlings, none of which had any banding. So much for sexual propagation! Subsequently, the two high-level banded Zebra Stripes have continued to have banded offsets.
Anyway, its about time I registerd 'Zebra Stripes" as I have a small population from the best seedling now. Ed. ... "Andrew Flower's plant has now been registered as T. 'Anwyl Zebra Stripes'."
