Curtis Botanical – Plate 6329 – Veitch's Aechmea / Bromeliad Torch

Original antique black-and-white print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 6329.

A spectacular Brazilian bromeliad named for the Veitch nursery dynasty — the most important commercial nursery family in Victorian Britain, responsible for introducing hundreds of tropical plants to European cultivation through their network of professional plant hunters. Aechmeas are tank bromeliads — their leaf rosettes hold pools of water that become entire ecosystems for frogs, insects, and microorganisms.

Florida, Gulf Coast, Hawaii — aechmeas grow outdoors in warm climates.

Uncolored plate. Condition consistent with age of volume. Each print is a unique piece of botanical history, printed on paper aged over a century.

This plate originated with the Royal Horticultural Society and passed through Wheldon & Wesley, one of the great natural history dealers of the 20th century. We came into the archive by accident and have spent the time since trying to share it as widely as we can.