Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Large

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Tropical rainforest

Range

South America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Spines

Status

Near Threatened

About

This bright bromeliad grows in the sandy restinga forests of eastern Brazil. Its central tank holds up to two liters of rainwater to trap and digest passing insects.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Liliopsida

Order

Poales

Family

Bromeliaceae

Genus

Aechmea

Species

Aechmea blanchetiana