Nidularium rutilans

Native to southeastern Brazil from Rio de Janeiro to northeastern São Paulo, this perennial bromeliad grows on trees in wet tropical forests. In Brazil, it occurs at elevations of about 650 to 4,600 feet. Its leaves form a rosette around a low central flowering cluster, where red bracts surround the smaller true flowers. As an epiphyte, it uses its host tree for support without taking nutrients from it. Photographed in Colombia.