Lucky Stripes (aechmea gamosepala)
Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is home to many animals, and we also cultivate plants from those animals’ habitats. You may see some of these plants in the animals” habitats or you can see them in our Victorian Greenhouse. Many of the plants are endangered, just like the animals.
DESCRIPTION: Lucky Stripes, often called matchstick bromeliad, earns its common name because the flower spike bearing many thick purplish-pink bracts with iridescent bluish-purple tips looks somewhat like surreal matchsticks lined up the stem. After bloom, the flower spike remains a rosy pink color for a long time. Leaves are rich green, but margins are yellow to white. RANGE: Native to Argentina and Brazil. HABITAT: The matchstick bromeliad is a semi-epiphytic plant that can be mounted on bark or driftwood, in the fork of a tree or other support, or grown in light, well-draining soil. FAMILY LIFE: Plants spread by stolons (runners) from the mother plant and will quickly spread to fill a pot and put on a spectacular show when it blooms. |