All have yellow green petals that coil up and are members of the Helicodea group.
My search for specimens of each of these three species started in the 1980's. I seemed to be forever acquiring plants named B. porteana, flowering them and finding out they were either B. rosea or B. zebrina! This was very frustrating.
In 1993 Elton Leme visited Australia to attend a Bromeliad Conference in Brisbane. He brought some packets of seed with him which were auctioned off. My ears pricked up at the sound of Billbergia porteana but the bidding went too high for me! What puzzles me is that I have never heard what happened to all those packets of seed, but I did keep my eye on Billbergia porteana being grown by Olive Trevor. On a visit to Brisbane in 1997 I was able to obtain a plant which is now busily adapting itself to Adelaide conditions. However, I have seen its siblings and it links to a true Billbergia porteana.
Olive tells me that this plant was not a best seller, which seems strange because of the paucity of B. porteana in Australia. On second thoughts it is not so strange because there are lots of plants around with B. porteana on the label!
I am sure the same situation applies in the U.S.A. So if you are keen in trying to have the correct name on your plant we are showing photos of plants which we believe are correctly named. We also have a few hints of what to look for.
 Billbergia porteana inflorescence |
 Billbergia rosea inflorescence |
 Billbergia zebrina inflorescence |
| 1 | Ovary verrucose (warty) | 2 |
| 1 | Ovary NOT verrucose | porteana |
| 2 | Sepals rounded tips | zebrina |
| 2 | Sepals pointed | rosea |
What has been puzzling me for ages is that I have never found a Billbergia rosea that has not turned out to be what was called for years as 'Venezuelana'
Is there such a thing as an "old" Billbergia rosea that does not have that distinctive strong broken barring on the outside of the leaves? The article in BSIJ 1983 #1 pages 4 and 6 which placed B.venezuelana as a synonym of B. rosea seemed more intent on herbarium specimens than what is actually growing in cultivation.
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