Tillandsia is a genus of around 540 species in the Bromeliad family (Bromeliaceae), found in the forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s, mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

s, and desert

Desert

A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

s, of Central

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, and Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 and the southern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

.
The thinner-leafed varieties grow in rainy areas and the thick-leafed varieties in areas more subject to drought. Moisture and nutrients are gathered from the air (dust, decaying leaves and insect matter) through structures on the leaves called trichome

Trichome

Trichomes are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants and certain protists. These are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae.- Algal trichomes :...

s.

Tillandsia species are epiphyte

Epiphyte

An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...

s (also called aerophytes or air plants) – i.e. they normally grow without soil

Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...

 while attached to other plants. Epiphytes are not parasitic, depending on the host only for support.

The genus Tillandsia was named by Carolus Linnaeus

Carolus Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...

 after the Swedish physician and botanist Dr. Elias Tillandz

Elias Tillandz

Elias Tillandz , later Tillander, was a Swedish born doctor and botanist in Finland. He was the professor of medicine at the Academy of Turku. He wrote the country's first botanical work, the Catalogus Plantarum, which was first published in 1673...

 (originally Tillander) (1640-1693).

Etymology

Common names for Tillandsia include air plant, Ball moss (T. recurvata) and Spanish moss

Spanish Moss

Spanish moss is a flowering plant that grows upon larger trees, commonly the Southern Live Oak or Bald Cypress in the southeastern United States....

, the latter referring to T. usneoides in particular.

Description

Tillandsia are epiphytes and need no soil because water and nutrients are absorbed through the leaves. The roots are used as anchors only. Reproduction is by seeds or by offsets called "pups". A single plant could have up to a dozen pups.

Although not normally cultivated for their flowers, some Tillandsia will bloom on a regular basis. In addition, it is quite common for some species to take on a different leaf colour (usually changing from green to red) when about to flower. This is an indication that the plant is monocarpic (flowers once before dying) but offsets around the flowering plant will continue to thrive.

Temperature is not critical, the range being from 32°C down to 10°C. They are sensitive to frost, except for the hardiest species, T. usneoides, which can tolerate night-time frosts down to about -10°C.

Tillandsia is a primary ingredient in an herbal supplement to treat pollen allergies.

Subgenera

• Tillandsia
• Allardtia
  Tillandsia subg. Allardtia
  Allardtia is a subgenus of the genus Tillandsia.-Species:-References:*...
  
  (A. Dietr) Baker
• Anoplophytum
  Tillandsia subg. Anoplophytum
  Anoplophytum is a subgenus of the genus Tillandsia.-Species:-References:*...
  
  (Beer) Baker
• Diaphoranthema
  Tillandsia subg. Diaphoranthema
  Diaphoranthema is a subgenus of the genus Tillandsia.-Species:-References:* -External links:...
  
  (Beer) Baker
• Phytarrhiza
  Tillandsia subg. Phytarrhiza
  Phytarrhiza is a subgenus of the genus Tillandsia.-Species:-References:*...
  
  (Vis.) Baker
• Pseudalcantarea
  Tillandsia subg. Pseudalcantarea
  Pseudalcantarea is a subgenus of the genus Tillandsia.-Species:* Tillandsia baliophylla Harms* Tillandsia grandis Schlechtendal* Tillandsia paniculata Linnaeus* Tillandsia viridiflora Baker-References:*...
  
  Mez