A variety of T. mima from the area of Rio Jequetepeque in the Department of Cajamarca, Peru that was discovered by Prof. Dr. Werner Rauh and published in 1977. A saxicole in nature, it has extremely heavy, wire-like roots for holding fast to rocks. Differing from the other typical forms of mima in having narrow foliage, many leaves and a smaller size of only about 24 inches maximum and usually smaller. Like the other forms, produces adventitious offsets at the base and this form also produces them on the inflorescence as well.

The inflorescence is quite tall, over 3 feet, tripinnate and bearing dark violet flowers. Our plants came from Dr. Rauh many years ago. We find this species hardy but very slow growing.

A beautiful plant that forms large colonies on the rocks of its Brazilian habitat of Cabo Frio. A caulescent lithophyte with short, stiff, green to bronzy leaves and a nice inflorescence of salmon bracts and blue flowers. Forms many offsets on the old stems. Very easy to grow in partial to full sun.

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.

A bulbous plant with a thick base to over an inch, and very stiff, contorted, terete wiry leaves. The plants are gray and slightly striped. The inflorescence is a tall spike with lavender branches. Very colorful in bloom. Great clumping plant, grows well just suspended from a string or wire.

This is a possibly natural hybrid of T. purpurea x straminea soft leaf we've had for a long time.

An unusual caulescent species from the area near Quero, in central Ecuador. It forms long stems, two feet on average, with rather hard, greenish-gray leaves. However, we have seen and photographed this species in the wild with stems over ten feet long!

Easy to grow, but seems to be a shy bloomer.

A small species with twisted foliage and fragrant light blue flowers. Native of Bolivia and Argentina where it grows in small clusters in the arid scrublands. The leaves are silvery, terete and somewhat kinked. Its inflorescence is like that of a streptocarpa, with light blue fragrant flowers. Grow bright and airy for best results.

A large growing clone of the species with stiff, gray leaves that have an almost glaucous look. The inflorescence is tall, narrowly branched and light yellow in color. A lithophyte or rock dwelling form that lives in southern Mexico. An easy to grow, hardy species.

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.

A possible natural hybrid though I am not sure if the two species overlap. Anyway it occurred in a collection of plants imported years ago. A 6 inch, stiff, gray-leaved rosette with pale, papery bracts and yellowish-white flowers that fade to light blue.

A form of the widely variable species from Brazil that has reddish-coppery leaves in a very leafy, somewhat caulescent rosette. The plants form clusters with many offsets. The inflorescence has reddish bracts and white flowers with an open corolla.