Tillandsia elongata
Native to tropical America, this epiphytic bromeliad grows attached to trees. Numerous long, narrow leaves curve outward from a stemless rosette and taper to fine points. Tiny scales cover the leaf surfaces. An upright flower stalk carries a loose, repeatedly branched inflorescence with long, flattened spikes. Red flower bracts overlap along the spikes while leaving parts of their supporting axes exposed. The small flowers have blue to lilac petals, with the stamens remaining inside the flowers. Slender cylindrical capsules develop afterward. Photographed in the department of QuindĂo, Colombia.
