Tillandsia habitat Page

Tillandsias are a member of the bromeliad family and are found only in the Americas, The range of spread is from Argentina to southern United States. The greatest populations of Tills are found in Central America and the northern parts of South America. They are found in a huge range of environments from tropical rainforests to extreme desert environments. Tills can be found growing on almost anything including electric power lines.

The highest populations of Tills can be found in open woodland where regular mist or rainfall is present for a reasonable part of the year. Tills are far less common in rainforest environments and those that are tend to be the soft green leafed forms that more resemble vresias than the Tills most of us know. These tropical forms tend to also grow much larger and faster than the arid climate forms.

Much can be learned by the appearance of the plant as to its natural environment. Heavy thick leafed silver tills are from more exposed areas with lower rainfall whereas green of softer leafed tills are from environments were they are more protected.


An example of a tillandsia display, the tree in the middle is made of concrete and the plants are either nailed or glued on, this is an accurate reproduction of their natural habitat and species from may climate zones can co-exist together.

Tills can be found in virtually all environments in habitat, some species are even found at high altitudes were sunlight may be stronger but plants are exposed to moisture from clouds almost every day.

Tillandsias are extremely slow to grow by our standards, a plant may take 5 to 20 years to mature and a 50 year old clump may be only 20cm across. To us, the collectors these are valuable specimens and highly prized. In habitat these plants have had millions of years to grow and replicate themselves which they do quite efficiently so natural populations of tills in habitat can be incredibly high. A number of people who have travelled through Mexico have made regular references to fuelling fires with branches choked in Tillandsia's. A single tree may contain tens of thousands of a single species or may contain a number of species. Till clusters regularly fall from trees as they over grow the branch they are on or push each other off. Each till species has learned to master its environment to they point where they are often the dominant plant in the area. Their slow growing habit has meant that they are capable of withstanding climatic extremes for much greater periods than normal foliage plants and do not require deciduous periods or other methods of surviving long hot summers of cold winters.

Many of the till species come from very arid environments and coexist with cacti and other arid climate plants, in cultivation these species grow much larger and more attractive in cultivation than they do in habitat as they may spend up to 8 months of the year without rainfall and exist in minimal rains during the wet season. Often habitat specimens are a mass of dead tissue with a few growths surviving in the clump. To the plant this is not a problem as all it requires is to survive and it is effectively doing that. Tillandsia's collected from habitat are easily recognized by the poor quality of the older plants and often visible insect damage on the leaves. For the sake of conservation it is better to avoid dealers who trade in these plants and in preference purchase tillandsias from reputable nurseries who grow plants from seed or division.