Scientific name:  Tillandsia paucifolia Baker

Former names: Tillandsia circinnata; Tillandsia bulbosa

Status in Florida: Not listed as threatened

Threats to this plant: Mexican bromeliad weevil (Metamasius callizona)

Distribution: Florida, Mexico, West Indies, Central and South America

Distribution in Florida: Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Indian River, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Osceola, Palm Beach, Sarasota, and St. Lucie Counties

Occurrence in Florida: Occasional

Habitat: Coastal strand and hammocks; brightly exposed habitats

Description: Tank epiphyte; grows to 10-35 cm (4-14 in.) tall, singly or in clusters; 5-10 leaves, silvery-gray, on long pseudobulbs, twisted and narrowing into curved ends; simple flower spike (5-8 cm [2-3 in.] long), may have 2-4 lateral spikes, with 2-15 flowers; floral bracts 2-3 cm (3/4 - 1 1/8 in.), leathery, pale pink; lavender-blue petals, 2-3 cm (3/4 - 1 1/8 in.) long; mature seed capsules up to 4 cm (1 1/2 in.) long, grayish brown, pointed

Time of flowering: Spring - summer

References:
Flora of North America Association. 2000. Flora of North America, Vol. 22. http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/FNA

Long, Robert W. and Olga Lakela. 1976. A Flora of Tropical Florida. Banyan Books, Miami.

Wunderlin, Richard P. 1982. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Central Florida. University Presses of Florida, Tampa.

Wunderlin, Richard P. and Bruce F. Hansen. 2000. Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants. Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa. http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu