Tillandsia "Howard's Purple"
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Tillandsia "Howard's Purple"
From BCR ... "Mature, caulescent rosette to 10cm. diameter x .15cm. high. Thin, arching, scurfed grey-green leaves, tapering to a point. Multiple, unscented purple flowers are borne on an arching spike to 7cm. long. Upper offsets emerge from the inflorescence base. The breeder thinks the parents are paleacea and tenuifolia "blue flowers". The breeder gave some plants to Bob Hudson in 2008. Bob distributed them in Queensland, where it is widespread and usually named as "Howard Martin's hybrid". Registered 10/2020 by Robert Reilly."
paleacea ? x tenuifolia "blue flowers" ? by Howard Martin, NSW, ~1998
Bob Reilly ... "Attached are 3 photos (thank you Lien Reilly for the photos and Bruce Dunstan for the plant!) of a tillandsia fairly widely grown in south east Queensland as "Howard Martin's hybrid"
(The flowers are a deeper purple than shown). I think it is worthy of registration, and I am happy to pull the required information together.
Could any of you give me some more information about the plant's origins e.g. parents, breeder, "date of hybridisation", whether it is grown in other states?"
If someone else is organising registration, then I am happy to leave it to them to progress."
Bob Hudson ... "I think I introduced this tillandsia into Qld ??
I was in Sydney and stayed with Howard Martin. He had very large clumps of a hybrid he told me he did not know the parents of and had not yet flowered it.
He gave me a large clump to bring back. Since then I have given a lot of pups away."
Bruce Dunstan ... "I got my plant from Bob Hudson in 2017 and it flowered for me within 6 months. John Olsen also grows something very similar that he got from Maurie Kellett and was selling as T. paleacea. I believe they are the same plant. Attached are images from the first flowering. Hope this helps.
Sharon Lee ... "Here is my Howard Martin hyb, mine has just finished. I was hoping to get some better pictures with the SLR, the Samsung S10 is proving underwhelming at taking macro.
Acquired from John Olsen as T. paleacea "flowers in SEQ". Been exceedingly dry here in central western Queensland so plant not looking its best atm."
Dale Dixon ... "I also got the same plant from the Ivan Hope Collection in Sydney."
Alfonso Trudu ... "Here are the pictures of our T. 'Howard Martin' in flower. We bought it from Bruce Dunstan at the last Tillandsia Day."
Bob Reilly ... "I have sent the registration information off to Geoff Lawn, but have had no response so far. The proposed name is: "Howard's Purple". Here is an email below, from Howard, which gives some more information about it."
Howard Martin 25/10/20 ... "Hi Bob, It's one of a number of crosses I did 97/98 period. Can't be positive with parents although I feel confident that it is likely paleacea x tenuifoliav 'Blue flower'.
Always stubborn to flower in Sydney West. I took most to WBC Cairns. That's where Bob Hudson would have got it as I stayed at his home during the Conference. The name "Howard's Purple" is fine by me. Thanks for taking the time to do the Registration."
Geoff Lawn ... "Here's another hybrid in circulation for over a decade without a cultivar name, but now officially T. 'Howard's Purple'. See: http://registry.bsi.org/?id=16398&whatsnew#16398"
Updated 04/11/20