Family: Bromeliaceae
Common name: Matchstick plant, Matchstick bromeliad, Gamos Bromeliad
Matchstick plant is a stunning little epiphytic plant that is well-known for its unique, colorful flowers and beautiful leaves. Though they are native to South America, this plant has gained popularity among garden enthusiasts for its ornamental value and ease of care.
Plant characteristics
The matchstick plant is a perennial, evergreen bromeliad that forms small rosettes of strap-like leaves. The plant is quite short, growing to a height of 30 to 60 cm. Like most bromeliads, the Matchstick plant forms a cup in the center surrounded by leaves, this area collecting water and nutrients.
The leaves are thick, long, narrow, and arching, with a glossy texture and serrated edges especially towards the tip. They are about 30 to 45 cm long and are arranged in a spiral pattern around the central stem. The leaves are usually green but some cultivars have variegated or striped leaves with cream, pink, or red stripes.
Matchstick flowers that emerge from the center of the rosette are unique, and stunningly beautiful, resembling a stack of matchsticks. The inflorescence has a thick central stalk with multiple deep pink bracts, each tipped with a beautiful purple rounded flower, the tip of the matchstick.
The flowers are small and inconspicuous individually, but is quite a eye-catcher when arranged in a cluster, attracting bees, butterflies, small insects, and ants that act as pollinators. The flowers can last several weeks before fading, but the colorful bracts stay on the plant even after all the flowers are gone.
After flowering, Matchstick plants may produce small, berry-like fruits containing seeds, but they are not commonly seen in garden plants.
Gardening tips
Matchstick plants are easy to grow and propagate making them ideal plants for borders, hedges, or shallow pots. They can be grown in places with indirect of filtered sunlight under large trees, since bright, direct sunlight can burn the leaf edges.
Bromeliads like to maintain some moisture in the cental cup, so it has to be watered from the top to keep the central cup filled with fresh water. Fertilize the plant during blooming season and repot only after the plant fills the pot.
In its natural habitat, Matchstick plants are epiphytes growing on branches of large trees, or in rocky areas absorbing nutrients through the hanging roots called trichomes. They can be grown in wood or moss stratum like orchids, provided they are kept misted and humid.
Propagation
Propagation is through offsets or pups that grow around the parent plants once they are settled in the soil. These pups can be carefully detached from the parent plant and replanted. Once Matchstick plants fill a pot, they can be taken out and separated carefully into individual plants.
Photographed at: Raman Research Institute, Bangalore
