Neoregelia carolinae ‘Tricolor’ (Blushing bromeliad)

Neoregelias are members of the bromeliad family, and are from eastern Brazil. This cultivated variety is not found in the wild.

Plants: Plants are up to 1½′ (45 cm) high and about the same in diameter. They like wet, hot, sunlit conditions.

Leaves: Leaves are waxy, long, narrow, and pointed, about 1′ ⨉ 1–1½″ (30 ⨉ 2.5–3.8 cm), green-edged, with cream/green stripes along their length.. They emerge from the center of the plant, which lacks a stem (acaulescent). At flowering time, the centers of these plants become brilliant red.

Flowers: Like most neoregelias, these are not known for their flowers, which are inconspicuous. A small raceme of white flowers up to 1½″ (4 cm) long appears in the center of the rosette. Most bromeliads have prominent flowers.

8/31/2013 · Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, Virginia · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 21 cm)

8/31/2013 · Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, Virginia · ≈ 2½ × 1½′ (79 × 53 cm)

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Zingiberidae	Gingers and related plants
Order	Bromeliales	Bromeliads: tropical plants adapted to limited water, often epiphytes
Family	Bromeliaceae	Bromelias: tropical and subtropical plants, the best known being pineapple
Genus	Neoregelia	Named for Eduard August von Regel, director of St. Petersburg Botanic Gardens in Russia (1815-1892)
Species	carolinae	Named for Caroline Morren, wife of Charles Jacques Édouard Morren, director of the Liège, Belgium botanical garden and bromeliad fancier extraordinaire

About plant names...

Neoregelia carolinae ‘Tricolor’ description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.