Ever since I read the description of this plant in Flora Neotropica 1979 page 1983 I have been trying to link it with a Billbergia 'windigig x speciosa' (see photos) which appeared in Australia in the early 1960's. No-one knew where it came from or why it had that strange name!
Billbergia buchholtzii was named by Mez in 1919 from a plant presumably growing in the Berlin Botanic Gardens. L.B Smith linked it with Atkinson 44 and pointed out that he believed it to be a hybrid. We know that Atkinson was a keen Bromeliad grower in the California area in the 1930's. What does Atkinson 44 look like? Alas, I am unable to trace this but a Billbergia buchholtzii is mentioned by James Giridlian in BSI Journal 1961 page 12 where he said he had three forms. Giridlian lived in Arcadia in California. Despite it being a small bright coloured flowering billbergia it was not captured on film by Padilla although it is mentioned in her book "Bromeliads" 1973.
What I do find intriguing is that in the BSI Journal 1977 page 121 we see a plant entitled "A hybrid of the old European cross known as B. 'Wendii' (sic)" .see photo .
This is enticingly similar to our Billbergia 'windigig x speciosa'. What does intrigue me is that Victoria Padilla made no reference to it being like B. buchholtzii. Secondly, the meaning of the caption is confusing , at least to me, and I assume the photograph is of an un-named hybrid whose parent was 'Wendii' (sic) (?windii).
Surely, B. buchholtzii must still be growing in California somewhere and perhaps someone can check our photographs with this elusive plant. Even better would be for a photograph of plant and a close-up of flower to be sent to either Michael Andreas or myself and we can make sure it becomes part of this Web page.
There may even be a link with B. nana which was described in 1973 by Pereira who did not use B. buchholtzii in his comparisons . A picture of B. nana appeared in BSI Journal 1989 page 19 and is shown here for comparison.
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