Aechmea gamosepala (matchstick plant)

Japanese name: エクメア ガモセパラ
Scientific name: Aechmea gamosepala

[Overview]
An epiphytic perennial 45–70 cm tall.
The leaves form a rosette; they are broad and strap-shaped, 25–55 cm long, bright green, with fine spines on the margins.
The leaves have scales, which are especially numerous on the underside.
The leaf bases overlap one another to form a funnel shape; in its native habitat, water collects here, and the plant grows by absorbing nutrients and water through the leaves as well.
The flower stalk is erect and bears a slender cylindrical inflorescence 9–26 cm long; the flower stalk is hairless, and the bracts are narrowly triangular, small and inconspicuous.
The flowers are blue to bluish purple with 3 petals, and emerge from a red to pink calyx tube.
A plant that has flowered once produces offsets and then dies.
The fruit is a spherical berry that ripens to pink.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by division.
A plant that has flowered once dies after producing offsets, so renew the plants with the offsets.
Plant in sphagnum moss.
It is relatively cold-tolerant and withstands temperatures down to about 5°C, but 10–12°C is safer for overwintering.
From spring to autumn, place it in bright shade with good ventilation; in winter, place it by a sunny window or similar.
Exposure to direct summer sunlight causes leaf scorch.
From spring to autumn, let water collect between the tubular leaves, and pour in plenty each time so that the water is replaced.
When temperatures begin to drop, turn the plant upside down to empty out the water, and in winter water only the soil.
It prefers an environment with high air humidity, so mist the leaves with a sprayer throughout the year.
From spring to autumn, apply slow-release fertilizer once every 2–3 months.
After flowering, cut off the flower stalk so that nutrients go to the offsets.
Pests and diseases include scale insects and spider mites.

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