Tillandsia utriculata giant form common names - Common names: Giant wild pine, swollen wild pine, spreading air plant
Family: Bromeliad
Sub-Family: Tillandsioideae
Genus: Tillandsia
Sub-Genus:
Native distribution: Florida, West Indies, Mexico, Central and South America. Dry and mesic hammocks, cypress swamps, pinelands.
Distribution in Florida: Northern limits are Putnam, Flagler, Sumter, Lake, and Citrus Counties (found in those and all counties south). Because of weevils is now endangered in its Florida.
Habit: This is a very large Tillandsia. Tank epiphyte (may grow terrestrially); plants grow singly, to 2m (6 ½ ft.) tall; 20-75 large,
Foliage: light green to gray-green leaves (up to 80 cm [31 in.] long) with wide base and scales; erect, zig-zag, ;
Flowers: branching flower spike 1-2 m (4080 in.) long (5-40 branches); floral bracts green or purple tinged; 10-200 flowers, 4 cm (1 ½ in.) long; petals white at base, violet at end. Time of flowering: Spring to fall (especially summer); seeds are released the following year in late spring.
Seed: seed capsules up to 5 cm (2 in.) long; monocarpic (produces single flower spike, releases seed and dies); low rate of vegetative reproduction; seeds wind dispersed; may live to 20 years.
Pups:
Cultivation:
Fertilization: A mist every week with Epiphyites Delight or Epsom salts during the growing season will help the plant.
( Epiphyte’s Delight fertilizer was developed for a special reason. Nitrogen promotes foliar growth. If you have Tillandsias, Orchids, or other epiphytes and you feed them, take a look at the nitrogen content. If it’s high in urea, the plants can’t use it because the urea needs a bacteria in soil to break it down into ammonia and nitrates. Since the epiphytes don’t have any soil they can’t break down the urea. It was for this reason that we had Epiphyte’s Delight formulated. It contains only ammoniacal and nitrate nitrogen which is immediately accessible and usable by the plants.)
Availability: Status in Florida: Endangered (listed as a result of Mexican bromeliad weevil attack).
Threats to this plant in Florida:Mexican bromeliad weevil (Metamasius callizona), illegal collecting, habitat destruction.
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