Aechmea lueddemanniana

Native from southern Mexico through Central America, this bromeliad grows as an epiphyte in wet tropical forest. Its upright flower stalk branches into an open inflorescence bearing small blue to pink flowers. The flowers are followed by rounded fruits, which change color as they mature. Pale developing fruits turn lavender-purple along the branched stalk. Its overlapping leaf bases form a tank that collects rainwater. It produces new shoots at the base, which can be separated to grow additional plants. Photographed in Colombia.