This hardy bromeliad is flowering in the Glasshouse Bays.
Containing approximately 3000 species the genus Bromeliaceae (bromeliad family) occurs mainly in tropical and subtropical America, and rarely in Africa. Most members of the family are tender, and require warm, humid conditions, though Fascicularia bicolor is one of the few species which will survive and flower in gardens of the United Kingdom. There is debate about how many species the genus Fascicularia contains, and while other species have been described, all are considered to be synonymous with F. bicolor. Originating from coastal and central Chile where it grows epiphytically on host trees, in our gardens F. bicolor will thrive in sunny, well-drained soil and will tolerate temperatures in excess of -10°C, providing conditions are not too wet. It produces mounds of dense rosettes of slender, spiny foliage. The innermost leaves take on a brilliant red colour, which attracts pollinators to the dense corymbs of pale blue flowers produced at the centre of the leaf rosette in late summer and autumn. The genus takes its name from the from the Latin fasciculus meaning bundled.