The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Tillandsia imperialis
Tillandsia imperialis is an epiphytic bromeliad from the cloud forests of eastern Mexico, growing on tree branches rather than in soil. It grows best in humid, airy conditions and does not tolerate prolonged drought or dry air.
Tillandsia imperialis is an epiphytic species of flowering plant in the genus Tillandsia. This species is endemic to Mexico, specifically the states Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, and Veracruz, at elevations ranging from 800 to 2,600 meters. Its distribution is generally on the eastern portion of the eastern Sierra Madre Mountains and the eastern portion of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. This species is primarily epiphytic to the branches and holes of the tree species Pinus patula and Quercus laurina, or on lianas of the same trees, in moist cloud forests. This bromeliad prefers moist conditions and does not tolerate extended periods of drought or low humidity.
T. imperialis was first collected by Europeans in 1866 near Orizaba, Veracruz, and named by Edouard Morren in 1881. Its common name in Mexico is súchil (or xóchil), which is the Classical Nahuatl word for flower.
Tillandsia abbreviata · Tillandsia achyrostachys · Tillandsia acuminata · Tillandsia adamsii · Tillandsia adpressiflora · Tillandsia aequatorialis · Tillandsia aeranthos · Tillandsia afonsoana · Tillandsia aguascalientensis · Tillandsia aizoides · Tillandsia albertiana · Tillandsia albida
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Tillandsia imperialis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
