A saxicolous species from Peru’s desert valleys. Like a small, caulescent, silver tectorum, with inch long leaves. Grow dry and bright.

Many years ago I acquired my first specimen of this fine Tillandsia from Fred Fuchs, famed orchid collector and explorer, and never dreamed that I would ever see it growing wild. Years later our explorations took us to the arid scrub forests of western Ecuador and northern Peru where this plant was abundant, often in the crowns of towering Bombax trees.

A beautiful species with rather thin, very dark gray, stiff, almost brittle leaves in a symmetrical open rosette that can reach 18 inches across.

The inflorescence, a tall spike with a cluster of short branches, develops slowly, becoming vivid lacquer red and lasting in color for months.

This is the proliferating form of secunda from the area north of Quito, Ecuador. A large growing plant with silvery-green leaves in an upright rosette, which when in bloom produces its offsets on its inflorescence. The inflorescence is tall and branched, up to 3 feet or so, and usually bright red in color, and the adventitious offsets are produced at almost every internode. In nature it grows on the ground on rocky slopes in full sun. Popular with collectors, it is usually grown potted to gain size and vigor.

*VIPP plants are NOT in bloom

A natural hybrid of (utriculata x fasciculata) known from the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Our plants originated on the island of St. John in the vicinity of Cinnamon Bay where the only two possible parents of this beauty occur side by side.

Taking the best of both parents, it has an inflorescence much larger and more branched than fasciculata, but much more colorful than utriculata. It does offset, though it may wait until the inflorescence is almost finished. Very rarely seen in any collections. We have two clones in our collection, and this one is by far the best.