''Tillandsia xerographica'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a Family (biology), family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the Tropics, tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and on ...

family. It is native to southern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

. The name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

words ξηρός (''xeros''), meaning "dry", and γραφία (''graphia''), meaning "writing". It is included in ''Tillandsia'' subg. ''Tillandsia''.

Description

''Tillandsia xerographica'' is a slow-growing,

xerophytic A xerophyte () is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water. Examples of xerophytes include cactus, cacti, pineapple and some gymnosperm plants. The morphology (biology), morphology and physiology ...

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

. The greenish silver leaves are wide at the base and taper to a point making an attractive, sculptural rosette, or more in diameter and over high in flower. The inflorescence, on a thick, green stem, in height, densely branched. The leaf bracts are rosy red; the floral bracts are chartreuse; and the petals of the tubular flowers are red to purple and are very long lasting (months).

Habitat

''Tillandsia xerographica'' inhabits

dry forests The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

and

thorn scrub Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (Ancient Greek 'dry') shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this habitat ...

at elevations of 140 to 600 m in southern

and

. Average temperatures in its habitat range from 22 °C to 28 °C, with relative humidity between 60% and 72% and annual precipitation between 550 and 800 mm. It grows epiphytically on the highest branches, where it receive intense lighting.

Cultivars

* ''Tillandsia'' 'Betty' (''T. xerographica'' × '' T. brachycaulos'') * ''Tillandsia'' 'Fireworks' (''T. xerographica'' × '' T. roland-gosselinii'') * ''Tillandsia'' 'Silver Queen' ('' T. jalisco-monticola'' × ''T. xerographica'')BSI Cultivar Registry
Retrieved 11 October 2009 * ''Tillandsia'' 'Silverado' ('' T. chiapensis'' × ''T. xerographica'')

References

xerographica Plants described in 1953 Flora of El Salvador Flora of Guatemala Flora of Honduras Flora of Southeastern Mexico Flora of Southwestern Mexico Epiphytes {{Tillandsia-stub