Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: Central and South America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

A rootless epiphyte that anchors itself to branches, rocks, or even bare wire — absorbing every drop of water and nutrient it needs through tiny silver scales on its leaves called trichomes. Some species bloom only once in a lifetime, then spend their final years producing a ring of pup offsets before dying.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Bromeliaceae
Genus: Tillandsia