Tillandsia utriculata | |
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T. utriculata tank | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Bromeliaceae |
Genus: | Tillandsia |
Subgenus: | Tillandsia subg. Tillandsia |
Species: | T. utriculata
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Binomial name | |
Tillandsia utriculata | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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Tillandsia utriculata, commonly known as the spreading airplant, the giant airplant,[3] or wild pine is a species of bromeliad that is native to Florida and Georgia in the United States, the Caribbean, southern and eastern Mexico (Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Oaxaca, the Yucatán Peninsula), Central America, and Venezuela.[2][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
Two varieties are recognized:[2]
Florida populations of Tillandsia utriculata are highly susceptible to attack by the invasive weevil Metamasius callizona, and have been devastated throughout their range.[12] Tillandsia utriculata holds more impounded water in its leaf axils, known as its tank, (up to a liter) than does any other Florida bromeliad. It is a major host of many species of aquatic invertebrates. With T. utriculata on a steady decline, a loss of habitat is occurring for many of these animal species.[13][14]