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Aechmea magdalenae
Also called Silk Grass
Aechmea magdalenae, called Arghan or Silk Grass, is a spiny bromeliad epiphyte from wet tropical forests and swamps of Central America to Ecuador, grown for its silky fibre. It needs humid, moist conditions and bright light, and does best with plenty of water in the cup and air moisture.
Aechmea magdalenae is a flowering plant in the Bromeliaceae family. It is also known as ixtle. This species is native to Central America, southern Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador. The specific epithet magdalenae comes from the place it was discovered, the Rio Magdalenae Valley in Colombia. The long green leaves feature fierce spines and may reach about 2.5 meters tall. In nature, it is found in moist and swampy woods. The flowers are red and give way to edible fruits.
A. magdalenae uses crassulacean acid metabolism, meaning that it takes in carbon dioxide during the night, stores it, and uses it during the day to produce carbohydrates (allowing its stomata to stay closed during the day, which limits water loss).
Aechmea apocalyptica · Aechmea blumenavii · Amazonian Zebra Plant · Brazilian Vaseplant · Urnplant · Coralberry · Aechmea gamosepala · Aechmea kleinii · Aechmea lueddemanniana · Christmas Jewels · Aechmea rubens · Aechmea serrata
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aechmea magdalenae by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
