PlantaeDB Logo
Login Sign-up

Genus Tillandsia in Family Bromeliaceae

In botanical taxonomy, a genus (plural genera) is a rank used to group closely related species within a family. In the hierarchy, genus sits below family and above species.

Genera are defined by shared morphological, anatomical, and genetic characteristics (for example, features of flowers, fruits, seeds, or leaves) that indicate a close evolutionary relationship among the species they contain.

Each genus can include one or more species. Examples include Rosa (roses) and Solanum (nightshades, including tomato and eggplant).

Do you wish to read more about plant taxonomy? Click here!

Genus Description

Suggest a correction!

Tillandsia (Bromeliaceae) is the largest genus in Bromelioideae, comprising approximately 600–700 species and the iconic “air plants.” It is native to the New World tropics and subtropics, from the southern United States through Central America to Chile and Argentina, with centers of diversity in the Andes and Brazil. The most frequently referenced type species is Tillandsia utriculata, widely treated as such since Linnaeus (POWO, 2024; WFO, 2024). Most members are epiphytic rosette-form herbs that obtain water and nutrients through specialized leaf trichomes; leaves vary from filiform to broad and sword-shaped, often with an open rosette and no evident stem; inflorescences range from simple spikes to much-branched panicles; floral parts are trimerous and often secund on the rhachis, with petals usually white to violet and not forming a tube; the superior ovary is tricarpellate with axile placentation and numerous ovules, the style is often persistent, and the fruit is a septicidal capsule. Givnish et al. (2010) summarized general bromeliad morphology and ecology, supporting these diagnostic features as recognized in Bromeliaceae. The genus is most diverse in montane and seasonally dry forests, gallery forests, and coastal mangrove-associated habitats, with many species occurring as epiphytes in canopy microhabitats; a minority are lithophytic or terrestrial; elevational distributions span lowlands to high Andes. Pollination systems are diverse, with hummingbirds, bats, and moths documented in various species, and dispersal by wind via winged seeds is common. Chromosome counts in Bromeliaceae are often reported as x=16; Barfuss and Till (2016) highlighted polyploid series within Tillandsia, indicating variability around this base number. Subgeneric classification has changed repeatedly; Barfuss et al. (2016) proposed major reorganizations, but the standard databases continue to treat genera such as Guzmania and Vriesea separately (POWO, 2024; WFO, 2024; Christenhusz & Chase, 2014). Horticulturally, Tillandsia is widely cultivated as ornamentals and curiosities, and some species are common in the cut flower and hobbyist trade; a few may become weedy in favorable climates, though substantial invasiveness is not well documented. Information on extinction risk across the genus remains uneven, with many species insufficiently assessed and habitat loss and overcollection cited as concerns (Barfuss & Till, 2016). Continued integration of molecular phylogenies, revised taxonomy, and standardized threat assessments will be essential to inform conservation priorities for this diverse lineage.

Pick a Species to see its components: