Tillandsia Species
Tillandsia edithae Silver Form
173
A beautiful caulescent plant with short, broadly triangular, silvery-gray leaves and a stunning red-flowered inflorescence. A native of Bolivia where it lives a lithophytic existence on sheer rock cliffs, hanging in massive cascades. Care-free to grow, when mounted in a pendant fashion it freely produces offsets along its old stem, soon forming large attractive clusters.
Our stock came from a collection we made in 1993 in Bolivia. The excitement still lingers when I think of my fist encounter with the species in the wild. We had been traveling the rugged canyons that lay between ridge after ridge of the Cordillera de los Andes on Bolivia’s rugged and desolate eastern frontier.
On our satellite maps the terrain appeared to have been clawed by a giant jaguar, leaving parallel grooves hundreds of miles long etched deeply into the altiplano. We were weary from several weeks travel having seldom enjoyed a bed or hot meal. It remains a mystery why in such a relatively rich habitat for Tillandsias such as this, that one can travel for many miles and endless hours and not see a single plant! But on this dusty day our luck changed.
In a deep gorge where the escarpment walls seemed to rise and close in, causing dark shadows across the valley floor, we came into an incredible sight. Our first hint was an isolated cliff, across a muddy stream, that had a small colony of a caulescent Tillandsia. Crossing the stream, a break in the monotony of the day, I carried collecting pole and camera towards the cliff. Distance deceives among the stone monoliths of these haunting canyons and as the ‘bushes’ at the cliff base became large trees at my approach, so also did the Tillandsias disappear into the forest canopy.
Reaching the base of the cliff, I couldn’t even see the plants that lured me in the first place, as they were easily over a hundred feet overhead obscured by the canopy of the forest. However, with adrenaline coursing as it does when victory or discovery is in the wind, we drove onward to our reward. Not over a mile further on, the cliffs, which towered hundreds of feet tall, were covered with Tillandsias as far as the eye could see. Approaching this time we discovered that our long awaited prize was Tillandsia edithae!
Buy one now and save the bone-jarring, dust-eating, dangerous trip to Bolivia’s eastern desert.
Tillandsia stricta Hard Leaf
319
An all-time favorite from Brazil is about 6 inches across in a leafy rosette with stiff gray-green leaves. It produces a stunning blue-flowered, plume-shaped pink inflorescence in the summer. In nature this plant can be found growing on the restinga sands of beach dunes and in trees in the foothills of the Atlantic Range in Brazil.
Tillandsia andreana
110
This plant is one of the rarest Tillandsias in Colombia and has always been in demand as a collector item. Shaped like a green sea urchin about three inches across, it produces a single vivid red flower, then offsets, forming a clump. An epiphyte in medium altitudes, it does well at sea level. Tillandsia andreana is another of the genuine collector items of the genus.
Today it is grown from seed, but in years gone by, was only rarely available outside of Colombia from where it was said to have been occasionally smuggled in the robes of a Jesuit Priest, and sold for quite high sums. This lovely little species is a golf ball sized tuft of yellow/green leaves that sports a giant, single red flower. Will form large clumps which bloom enmasse.
Tillandsia exserta
177
Tillandsia exserta features a unique and slender shape, with white, arching leaves and a red inflorescence with violet flowers. This species grows in the drier, hotter conditions of Mexico. A unique species of Tillandsia.
Tillandsia brachycaulos 'Giant Form'
2070
A beautiful, giant growing form of this spectacular red-blushing Central American species. Normally about 6 inches across, this form easily reaches 12 inches or more! The leaves are green until anthesis and then blush bright red, which lasts for some weeks, then slowly fades back to green. A sub-mesic species that enjoys a bit more moisture than many of the gray leaved types.
I was disappointed that the plant was so small... by the time I paid taxes and shipping it was about 22$.
And it was just a tiny little plant. It's hard to tell size from your photos but I did think it was going to be bigger.Marla Kletter
I’ve been buying from Tropiflora for months and I’m never disappointed; the photos are accurate, plants are well-packaged and secure, and they are shipped quickly! The variety is amazing - No complaints or
concerns from me! Happy Buyer in Naples
My plant arrived within 48 hours in perfect condition. The best plants are always found at Tropiflora!!!!