Species · genus Tillandsia · Bromeliaceae

Spreading Airplant

Tillandsia utriculata L.

Also known as: Wild Pine · Jumbie-pineapple · Giant Airplant · Giant Wild Pine

Growth habit

epiphyte

Native range

Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Is., Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Florida, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panamá, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, Turks-Caicos Is., Venezuela, Windward Is.

Reference · T. utriculata

Cultivars of T. utriculata

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under T. utriculata yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Tillandsia utriculata is an epiphytic bromeliad from the warm Caribbean and Central American tropics, growing rootless on bark and branches rather than in soil. It takes water through its leaves, so mist or soak it, then let it dry fully with good airflow — water again when the leaves feel dry and the plant has completely dried out, never while still damp. Give it bright indirect light and avoid letting water sit trapped in the leaf base, which invites rot.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 10 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

10–32 °C

Soil mix

None — mounted or displayed bare as an air plant

Propagation

Seed, or occasional offsets after flowering

Fertilizing

Dilute air-plant feed misted monthly

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Sends up a tall spike, then dies after blooming

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Spreading Airplant yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.