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Short thick curled leaves that wrap around eachother and remind me of mating slugs. Short thin branched spikes of bright red bracts and short lived blue flowers.
I have tried it several times but I have yet to get it through a winter which makes me think it is not very cold hardy. The Llifle encyclopedia says: "Origin and Habitat: Mexico and Central America (El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala) Altitude range: From sea level to 2,400 meters in elevation. It grows epiphytically on trees and tends to grow singly or in small clusters of two to a dozen plants. Ants establish their nests in the inflated base of the stem. In Guatemala, small forms rarely more than 10 cm. high thrive in dry gullies that are virtually cloudless and rainless except for the July-August rainy season. Humidity from trickling streams and gullies allows the plants to exploit the habitat. The intense heat and lack of available water keep the plants from attaining a larger size. Larger forms that are about 24 cm. wide and 20 cm. high also grow in droughty habitats but receive moisture at more frequent intervals. Some giant specimens of this species have been known to reach a height and width of 35 cm." |
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| 14th November 2006 | ||