Wallisia pretiosa

Endemic to Ecuador, this perennial bromeliad grows on trees in wet tropical forest and reaches about 20 inches tall when flowering. It has a dense rosette of tapering leaves and a flattened, sword-shaped flower spike. Large blue flowers have white centers, and the flower bracts spread apart during and after flowering. It grows in mist forest in the Mindo Valley, Ecuador, at about 5,600 feet. Its stamens and style remain enclosed within the flowers. Photographed in Ecuador.