Scientific name:  Tillandsia balbisiana J.A. & J.H. Schultes

Other common names: inflated wild pine; reflexed wild pine; cuttlefish; Balbis' airplant

Status in Florida: Threatened

Threats to this plant: Mexican bromeliad weevil (Metamasius callizona) and habitat destruction

Distribution: Florida, West Indies, Mexico, Central and South America

Distribution in Florida: Orange, Osceola, Polk, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, DeSoto, Highlands, Okeechobee, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Glades, Charlotte, Lee, Hendry, Palm Beach, Broward, Collier, Monroe, and Miami-Dade Counties

Occurrence in Florida: Occasional

Habitat: Scrub, pinelands, strand swamp, hammocks, mangrove, shell ridges/mounds (often in open woods)

Description: Tank epiphyte; grows to 70 cm (28 in.) tall, singly or in clusters; 15-30 leaves, leathery, grayish in appearance because of scales, may be reddish; leaves slightly bulbous at base and tapering and curved or twisted at ends; flower spike usually with 2-10 lateral branches; scape 8-30 cm (3-12 in.); floral bracts (5-20 mm [1/4 - 3/4 in.] long) may be bright red, with violet petals (5-30 flowers per plant); seed capsules up to 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.) long

Time of flowering: Fall to summer, especially early spring

References:
Coile, Nancy C. 2000. Notes on Florida's Endangered and Threatened Plants. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, Bureau of Entomology, Nematology and Plant Pathology, Botany Section. Contribution No. 38, 3rd ed., Gainesville, FL. http://www.virtualherbarium.org/EPAC

Flora of North America Association. 2000. Flora of North America, Vol. 22. http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/FNA

Long, Robert W. and Olga Lakela. 1976. A Flora of Tropical Florida. Banyan Books, Miami.

Florida Natural Areas Inventory. 1997. Matrix of Habitats and Distribution by County of Rare/Endangered Species of Florida. Florida Natural Areas Inventory/The Nature Conservancy. http://www.fnai.org