Aechmea germinyana

Native to Panama and Colombia, this perennial bromeliad grows as an epiphyte in wet tropical forests. Its leaves form a funnel-shaped rosette around a central flowering stalk. Closely overlapping bracts surround the flowers, producing a dense, elongated inflorescence. The species belongs to the bromeliad family, whose epiphytic members obtain support from trees while gathering moisture and organic material around their rosettes. Photographed in Florida.