Confused with the title? That's because the new genus, Goudaea, was recently created for a small group of Andean Vriesea species based on a phylogenetic analysis of molecular (DNA) data followed by mapping newly reassessed morphological characters onto the final trees. The two species are Goudaea ospinae and Goudaea chrysostachys, including the recognised varieties in each. Considering what a typical Vriesea flower looks like, think of Vriesea carinata or V. fosteriana, then it's no wonder G. ospinae and G. chrysostachys had to be moved into their own genus. They are quite unique and more closely related to Cipuropsis amicorum and Zizkaea tuerkheimii, both ex- Vriesea as well!
The new classification of the Tillandsioideae, by Michael Barfuss, Walter Till, Elton Leme, Juan Pinzon, Jose Manzanares, Heidemarie Halbritter, Rosabelle Samuel and Gregory Brown, an international team of scientists, was only published in late 2016, though sneak previews had been around for a few years and Jose had even laid the groundwork for the changes four years ago at the Australasian Conference in Auckland, New Zealand.
On my second trip to Colombia, in January/February 2016, among many other things, I planned to seek out and photograph the two varieties of Goudaea ospinae, collected by and named in honour of Colombian horticulturalist, Franz Gruber, a great of the bromeliad world. Franz established the extensive nursery, Bromelias de Colombia, now managed by his children, Juan and Patricia.
Both plants were not easy to find as the information in the original botanical descriptions were vague or incorrect regarding habitat, however Franz was endlessly generous with his help and success was eventually achieved.
The first quest in the plan was to re-discover the ever spectacular Goudaea ospinae var. gruberi. No habitat photos have ever been published, very likely as the area had been 'no go' for a long time.
Back in the '80s, as an enthusiastic bromeliad collector and aspiring amateur brom 'scientist', the BSI's bimonthly Journal was a source of knowledge and inspiration for me. Latin America was (and still is!) a long way from Australia and a habitat trip to a country like Colombia was just a dream, so dreams were made browsing the fantastic journals (and the many other books) contributed to and written by so many adventurous and dedicated bromephiles.
This beautiful, exquisitely tessellated variety of Goudaea ospinae had fascinated me since Harry Luther told me of its discovery in Colombia when I visited Selby Gardens in 1990. It was two years before it appeared in the BSI Journal and another couple before I was able to import some. It is true to say that Gruberi, as we affectionately call it in Australia, made an impression! [Editor's note: Gruberi is used in this article as an abbreviation for Goudaea ospinae var. gruberi. It is also used in plural form to indicate a physical collection of plants belonging to this species.]
The 'normal' Goudaea ospinae was named by Harry Luther, in 1983, in honour of Berta Ospina, a renowned Colombian collector and horticulturalist. Before...