Aechmea cucullata

Native to Colombia and Ecuador, this perennial bromeliad grows on trees in wet tropical forests. In Ecuador, it can form colonies high on exposed tree trunks in the Amazon basin. Its funnel-shaped rosette reaches about 2 to 2.5 feet tall. The floral bracts have inward-curving, hoodlike tips, which give the species its name. Both pink and red forms with yellow tips are known, with the pink form common in cultivation. Each rosette flowers once, while new shoots continue the clump. Photographed in Florida.