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Tillandsia bartramii
Bartram's Airplant
Florida native
This airplant is frequently found in hammocks of the Florida peninsula from just north of Lake Okeechobee to the Suwannee River and from Jefferson County to Gulf County in the panhandle. Tillandsia bartramii can also be found in Georgia, South Carolina and Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Bartram's airplant is an epiphyte, anchoring itself on trees with its wiry roots, but not deriving any nutrition from the tree, unlike a parasite. It is and evergreen herb forming dense clusters of stiff, spreading leaves on the branches and trunks of trees. The leaves are covered with pinkish-gray scales, less than 5mm (1/4 in.) wide except for the widened triangular base, subulate to filiform and 15-40 cm (6-16 in.) long. The flowers appear in spring and summer at the end of 8-15cm (3-6 in.) long stalks ending in rose-red overlapping bracts, with 5-20 flowers emerging from the bracts. The corolla is narrow and tubular, made up of three violet petals. The fruit is a narrow brown tubular capsule 2.5-3cm (~1 in.) long that opens into three parts releasing plumed seeds.
Tillandsia bartramii is a member of the Bromeliaceae - Bromeliad family.
Other species of the Tillandsia genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Tillandsia balbisiana - NORTHERN NEEDLELEAF
Tillandsia fasciculata var. densispica - CARDINAL AIRPLANT
Tillandsia fasciculata var. clavispica - GIANT AIRPLANT
Tillandsia floridana - FLORIDA AIRPLANT
Tillandsia recurvata - BALLMOSS
Tillandsia setacea - SOUTHERN NEEDLELEAF
Tillandsia simulata - FLORIDA AIRPLANT
Tillandsia usneoides - SPANISH MOSS
Tillandsia utriculata - GIANT AIRPLANT
Tillandsia variabilis - SOFT-LEAVED WILD PINE
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Feb 26, 2020
