| "In Bradea 3(12): 89-90. 1980 Pereira & Moutinho described Neoregelia marcelli from Maua in the Sierra do Itatiaia in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In JBS 34(2):78. 1984 Carol Johnson wrote an article on this species where her plant had been identified by Harry Luther as Neoregelia marcelli. It had originally been imported from Lotus Osiris in Brazil in 1977 without a name. | ) |
In 1986 a plant with this name was imported to Australia but we do not know from whom or by whom but presumably as a plant not seed! It did not like growing in Adelaide and died! However, it has survived on the east coast of Australia and one offset obtained from Bill Morris was called PAF374 by Peter Franklin.
In 1998 Elton Leme produced his 'Canistropsis ' Book where Neoregelia marcelli became Canistropsis marceloi and Peter Franklin was able to investigate his PAF374. Oops! The inflorescence was not compound (could it be depauperate?), the petals were pale blue/lilac not white, the leaves were 'soft' and reddish most of the time but there was more red intensity in the centre at anthesis, suggesting a possible relationship with Neoregelia. The plant matched Johnson's Neoregelia marcelli but seemed some way from the description and photo in Leme's book!
Peter and I discussed this at length and decided it was probably closer to Canistropsis correia-araujoi. C. correia-araujoi was named from only one collection. In his discussions on this plant, Elton Leme points out it could well be a hybrid, even bigeneric. This was how the photograph of PAF374 got into fcbs.org as C. correia-araujoi.
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| Canistropsis 'Windy Hill' | |
However, since then, an offset of C. correia-araujoi has been imported to Australia so we are now certain that PAF374 is not Canistropsis correia-araujoi.
I was thinking that we should now call PAF374 (and the Carol Johnson plant? ) Canistropsis aff. marceloi, but because we have no collection data it would be safer to give it the cultivar name Canistropsis 'Windy Hill', until a better rationale as to its true identity is available.
What happens to the herbarium specimen in Selby Gardens of Johnson's Neoregelia marcelli I do not know, because this was not cited in Elton Leme's book.
Any further information regarding these Canistropsis plants would be much appreciated."