Tillandsia variabilis
Leatherleaf Airplant
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Scientific name: Tillandsia variabilis Schlecht.
Former names: Tillandsia valenzuelana.
Common names: Leatherleaf airplant, soft-leaved wild pine.
Status in
Florida: Threatened.
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Threats to
this plant in Florida: Mexican bromeliad weevil (Metamasius callizona), illegal collecting, habitat destruction.
Distribution: Florida, West Indies, Mexico, Central and South America.
Distribution in Florida: Broward, Collier, Hendry, Highlands, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee Counties.
Occurrence in Florida: Occasional.
Habitat: Moist, shaded habitats (hammocks, cypress swamps).
Description:
Tank epiphyte; plants usually single (not clustered); grows to 30-50 cm
(12-20 in.) tall; 15-20 leaves with fine scales, soft, green-gray or
silvery (may have rose or purplish coloring), tapering at the top;
outer leaves are 2-3 cm (3/4 - 1 1/8 in.) wide at the base;
simple flower spike with reddish or purple floral bracts (up to 3.5 cm
[1 3/8 in.] long), violet petals (3.5 cm [1 3/8 in.] long),
and white sepals (6 mm; ¼ in.).
Time of
flowering: Spring - fall.
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References
Coile NC. 2000. Notes on Florida's Endangered and Threatened
Plants. FDACS/DPI,
Bureau of Entomology, Nematology and Plant Pathology, Botany Section.
Contribution No. 38, 3rd ed., Gainesville, FL.
http://www.virtualherbarium.org/EPAC
Florida Natural Areas Inventory.
1997. Matrix of Habitats and Distribution by County of
Rare/Endangered
Species of Florida. Florida Natural Areas Inventory/The Nature
Conservancy.
http://www.fnai.org
Long RW, Lakela O. 1976. A Flora of Tropical Florida.
Banyan Books, Miami. 178 p.
Luther
HE, Benzing DH. 2009. Native Bromeliads of
Florida. Sarasota, FL. Pineapple Press,
Inc.
Ward
DB (ed.). 1979. Plants, Vol. 5. In: Rare and Endangered Biota of
Florida, P.C.H. Pritchard (ed.). University Presses of Florida,
Gainesville, 175 p.
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