Scientific name:  Tillandsia fasciculata Swartz

Former name: T. hystricina

Other common names: Quill-leaf airplant, common wild pine, clustered wild pine, dog-drink-water

Status in Florida: Endangered (listed as a result of Mexican bromeliad weevil attack)

Threats to this plant: Mexican bromeliad weevil (Metamasius callizona), illegal collecting, habitat destruction

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

Distribution in Florida: Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, and Volusia Counties

Occurrence in Florida: Frequent before weevil attack

Habitat: Hammocks, cypress swamps, and pinelands

Description: Tank epiphyte; plants often grow in clusters; 20-50 leaves, long, stiff and leathery (grayish-green, scaly, brownish at base), 30-70 cm (12-28 in.) long, wider at base and tapering to a pointed tip; inflorescence 30-60 cm (12-24 in.) tall, spikes 7-15 cm long, 3-15 side branches; floral bracts usually bright red but many color forms exist in Florida, including yellow, green, and rose; 10-50 flowers; petals violet or rarely white, 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.) long; seeds in capsule 3 cm (1 1/8 in.) long; seeds windborne

Time of flowering: All year, especially spring to early summer

References:
Coile, Nancy C. 2000. Notes on Florida's Endangered and Threatened Plants. FDACS/DPI, 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

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

Langdon, K.R. 1981. The native Florida bromeliad or wild-pine, Tillandsia fasciculata. Botany Circular No. 15, Fla. Dept. Agric. & Consumer Services, DPI, Gainesville, FL.

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