Bromeliaceae
Tillandsia

Tillandsia flexuosa Sw.

First published in Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ.: 56 (1788)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Florida, Caribbean, SE. Mexico to N. South America. It is an epiphyte and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Andean, Guiana Shield, Caribbean, Orinoquia, Pacific. Elevation range: 0–1690 m a.s.l. Native to Colombia. Colombian departments: Antioquia, Atlántico, Bolívar, Boyacá, Caquetá, Casanare, Cesar, Córdoba, Cundinamarca, Guainía, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Norte de Santander, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Vaupés, Vichada.
Habit
Herb, Epiphyte, Terrestrial.
[UPFC]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
cebolleta, gallito
[UNAL]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Nativa en Colombia; Alt. 0 - 1690 m.; Andes, Guayana y Serranía de La Macarena, Llanura del Caribe, Orinoquia, Pacífico, Valle del Magdalena.
Morphology General Habit
Hierba, epífita, terrestre
Conservation
Preocupación Menor
[CPLC]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

George R. Proctor (2012). Flora of the Cayman Isands (Second Edition). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Morphology General Habit
Plant stemless; leaves 10 or more in a dense, twisted, often semi-bulbous rosette, 15–30 cm long or more, densely pale-appressed-scaly and usually marked with broad pale transverse stripes, the sheaths ovate, very large but passing into the blade without clear distinction, long-acuminate, stiff and curved at the apex
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Scape
Scape erect, slender, glabrous; scape-bracts erect, tubular-involute, at least the upper ones shorter than the internodes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence simple or with few branches; primary bracts like the upper scape-bracts; racemes very laxly flowered; rhachis slender, flexuous, sharply angled, glabrous; floral bracts 2–3 cm long, equal in length to or shorter than the sepals and about equal in length to the internodes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers with pedicels to 7 mm long; sepals 2–3 cm long; petals tubular- erect, linear, to 4 cm long, usually pale rose; stamens exserted; capsule narrowly cylindric, up to 7 cm long.
Distribution
Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac. Florida, Bahamas and Greater Antilles, and Panama to Guayana.
[Cayman]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of the Cayman Islands

    • Flora of the Cayman Islands
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0