Flora of the Southeastern United States

Tillandsia utriculata Linnaeus. Common name: Giant Wild-pine, Swollen Wild-pine. Phenology: Jan-Dec. Habitat: On tree branches in hammocks, cypress swamps, and Florida scrub. Distribution: Florida (and se. Georgia?); West Indies, Mexico, Central America, and n. South America. Reported for Georgia by Kartesz (1999), but not by Luther & Brown in FNA (2000); it is an unlikely disjunction from Putnam and Flagler counties (Florida).

ID notes: This is the largest of our native air plants, with only larger individuals of T. fasciculata sometimes nearing rosette size but with leaves thinner than T. utriculata. This species is also unique in being fully monocarpic and lacking the ability to produce clonal offshoots from the main rosette post-flowering (Brookover et al. 2020). This makes the species especially vulnerable to the Mexican Bromeliad Weevil (Metamasius callizona), as rosettes are often damaged or killed before plants can flower.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Synonymy ⓘ: = Bah, FNA22, K4, Meso6, NS, POWO, S, S13, WH3, Pinzón et al (2019). Basionym: Tillandsia utriculata L. 1753

Links to other floras: = Tillandsia utriculata - FNA22

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Heliophily ⓘ: 4