Guzmania conifera (Cone-bearing Guzmania)

Native from Colombia through Ecuador to northern Peru, this evergreen bromeliad grows on trees and on the ground in humid tropical forests. Arching, strap-shaped leaves form a spreading rosette. A stout upright stalk carries a dense, rounded or oval flower head resembling a pine cone. Thick, overlapping bracts are bright red with yellow tips. The individual tubular flowers sit closely among these bracts, with their stamens enclosed. Cylindrical seed capsules develop after flowering. Offsets develop after flowering and can be separated to propagate new plants. Photographed in Colombia.