Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Tillandsia

No, this isn't something that escaped from the zoo-- it's called a Tillandsia, or air plant. I bought one for myself and Amanda a few weeks ago at the West Seattle Nursery. The Tillandsia is just one of the 540 species in the bromeliad family. They are native to South America, Mexico and parts of the southern United States. All bromeliads are epiphytes, meaning they grow without soil by attaching to other plants. Moisture and nutrients are gathered from the air in the way of dust, decaying leaves and insect matter. We have plenty of dust in this house for it to eat, and the Air Plant City website has watering advice. I liked the look of it in this big glass container, but how about this:

It's a picture from Wiki Commons of an air plant "tower" someone created as a coffee table display. Quite the conversation piece when you have company over. Wine would help.

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