Unknown bromeliad, speculations welcome

[Rivera]

I don't know what it is. Bromeliads can be hard to ID without an inflorescence present, but I welcome any speculation. 

(Hand for scale)

(Thin, flexible leaves, silvery scales beneath, Puya-like)

The leaves are flexible, not brittle at all. The marginal spines are pronounced but not especially vicious.

It has been growing fine in both wet and dry conditions whether warm or cool (San Francisco). 

(These two were shriveled, barely-anything-there plants back when I received them in the mail, having purchased them on the best known online auction site as Puya dasylirioides from a questionable source. They weren't costly plants, but I believed they were misrepresented so I insisted to the seller that they were not the species and got a refund.)

Any guess what I might have here? 

[Silas_Sancona]

45 minutes ago, Rivera said:

I don't know what it is. Bromeliads can be hard to ID without an inflorescence present, but I welcome any speculation. 

(Hand for scale)

(Thin, flexible leaves, silvery scales beneath, Puya-like)

The leaves are flexible, not brittle at all. The marginal spines are pronounced but not especially vicious.

It has been growing fine in both wet and dry conditions whether warm or cool (San Francisco). 

(These two were shriveled, barely-anything-there plants back when I received them in the mail, having purchased them on the best known online auction site as Puya dasylirioides from a questionable source. They weren't costly plants, but I believed they were misrepresented so I insisted to the seller that they were not the species and got a refund.)

Any guess what I might have here? 

Hechtia sp ( ...H. pretiosa ..or very similar.. perhaps? )  ...or a wider - leaved Dyckia  would be my first guess Genus -wise.  

Agree, from what pictures i can see when pulling up the in question Puya, leaves / way the marginal spines look doesn't match, to my eye at least.. 

[Rivera]

3 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Hechtia sp ( ...H. pretiosa ..or very similar.. perhaps? )  ...or a wider - leaved Dyckia  would be my first guess Genus -wise.  

Agree, from what pictures i can see when pulling up the in question Puya, leaves / way the marginal spines look doesn't match, to my eye at least.. 

Thanks Nathan. I will update if something revealing happens.

[Motlife]

Looks quite a lot like my Bromelia balansae as another potential option 

[JohnAndSancho]

I'm no expert but I think they're awesome. 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Motlife said:

Looks quite a lot like my Bromelia balansae as another potential option 

Leaves too short / wide for a Bromelia species..

2 common-est Bromelia sps seen in cultivation for comparison: 

B. balansae:  https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/482839-Bromelia-balansae/browse_photos

B. pinguin: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/154798-Bromelia-pinguin/browse_photos
 

[Rivera]

13 hours ago, Motlife said:

Looks quite a lot like my Bromelia balansae as another potential option 

Thank you Scott. Only thing is, they're a bit broader leaved and show no red or bronze color even though they're situated in full sun. 

[Motlife]

2 hours ago, Rivera said:

Thank you Scott. Only thing is, they're a bit broader leaved and show no red or bronze color even though they're situated in full sun. 

This is mine that was sold to me as B balansae, and it is broader and doesn't yet have red(which I assume happens pre flowering like a lot of broms, but could be wrong). It does look very similar. Perhaps young plants have this trait? Mine gets a bit of shade from the jubaea above it, so maybe that makes it broader? Or maybe mine isn't balansae either! 

[Silas_Sancona]

6 minutes ago, Motlife said:

This is mine that was sold to me as B balansae, and it is broader and doesn't yet have red(which I assume happens pre flowering like a lot of broms, but could be wrong). It does look very similar. Perhaps young plants have this trait? Mine gets a bit of shade from the jubaea above it, so maybe that makes it broader? Or maybe mine isn't balansae either! 

Definitely not a Bromelia sp.. 

Even in shade ( feral clumps of both species can be found growing in FL. See balansae here occasionally ) leaves are long and narrow..  Individual plants,  even young - sized offsets themselves,  have an obvious Ananas < Pineapple > look to them.  Foliage stands more upright vs. laying more flat / recurving like your plant. 

When an individual plant is getting ready to flower is usually when you'll see the leaves in the rosette laying more horizontally than vertically. 

Yours looks very Dyckia / Hechtia -like  ...something... within the Pitcairnioid section of the overall family.   ...That,  or within Puyoideae..  vs something within the Bromelioid section  ( ...Which is where both Bromelia and Ananas would be placed ..along with a majority of the " tank " type broms:  < Billbergia, Aechmea, Neos, etc. >  ) 

 

[Motlife]

On 1/23/2026 at 9:20 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

Definitely not a Bromelia sp.. 

Even in shade ( feral clumps of both species can be found growing in FL. See balansae here occasionally ) leaves are long and narrow..  Individual plants,  even young - sized offsets themselves,  have an obvious Ananas < Pineapple > look to them.  Foliage stands more upright vs. laying more flat / recurving like your plant. 

When an individual plant is getting ready to flower is usually when you'll see the leaves in the rosette laying more horizontally than vertically. 

Yours looks very Dyckia / Hechtia -like  ...something... within the Pitcairnioid section of the overall family.   ...That,  or within Puyoideae..  vs something within the Bromelioid section  ( ...Which is where both Bromelia and Ananas would be placed ..along with a majority of the " tank " type broms:  < Billbergia, Aechmea, Neos, etc. >  ) 

 

Thanks for that. Now I'm in the same position as Chris! It'll be interesting to see what it ends up as when it flowers. It has gotten big very quickly over the year or so I've had it, hopefully it doesn't get too huge!

[Silas_Sancona]

4 minutes ago, Motlife said:

Thanks for that. Now I'm in the same position as Chris! It'll be interesting to see what it ends up as when it flowers. It has gotten big very quickly over the year or so I've had it, hopefully it doesn't get too huge!

  If you look over general flower / inflo morphology for each genera,  you should be able to decipher what yours is when it decides to flower..

Dyckia and Hechtia tend to flower reasonably quickly  ...compared to at least Puya...   after attaining some size,  even in pots,  so,  < ..hopefully, lol > ..esp. at the size yours is,  you shouldn't have to wait too much longer for it to do  something..   


If he were still active here,   i'd bet our long since silent Bromeliad Guru would have solved both ID mysteries..  

 

[Motlife]

5 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

  If you look over general flower / inflo morphology for each genera,  you should be able to decipher what yours is when it decides to flower..

Dyckia and Hechtia tend to flower reasonably quickly  ...compared to at least Puya...   after attaining some size,  even in pots,  so,  < ..hopefully, lol > ..esp. at the size yours is,  you shouldn't have to wait too much longer for it to do  something..   


If he were still active here,   i'd bet our long since silent Bromeliad Guru would have solved both ID mysteries..  

 

Yeh, I hope it does something in the not too distant future. Just today I've repotted it as I'd jammed it in a big pot next to a jubaea and it was definitely competing for root space! I hope it doesn't end up too big. I love puya flowers, and this year seems an exceptional flowering year for the few growing around here, but man they get massive and I don't have the room for that! 

Thats a shame the expert isn't still around, however you seem to have taken over the mantle very well!