Tillandsia caloura

Endemic to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia, this epiphytic herb in the bromeliad family grows on trees in rainforest. In Colombia, it grows between about 4,950 and 10,800 feet. Its narrow, grayish leaves grow about 16 to 20 inches long and have dark purple bases. Small, flattened scales cover the leaves. The branched flower cluster grows about 10 to 13 inches long and carries flattened spikes, each with around 15 flowers. Thick, overlapping, pointed bracts surround the flowers and extend beyond the sepals. Photographed in Colombia.