Cipuropsis hospitalis

Native only to Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, this large bromeliad grows in wet mountain environments. It grows on the ground in sunny, open sites near the edge of páramo vegetation. A perennial, prostrate stem carries a rosette of long, broad leaves at its tip. The leaves taper to pointed tips and have smooth upper surfaces marked with purple-brown lines, with small scales beneath. A stout, upright flowering stalk bears a branched inflorescence with clusters of oblong spikes. Individual flowers have short, thick stalks, and their stamens remain inside the corolla. Photographed in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia.