Tillandsia tenuifolia Linnaeus (in part)

Plants densely clustering, flowering to 30 cm. Stems short. Leaves 15--30, many-ranked, finely appressed, erect, green to reddish green, 20--30 ´ 0.1--0.4 cm, uniformly scaly throughout; sheath rust-colored, broadly triangular, flat, not forming pseudobulb, 0.8--1.8 cm wide; blade very narrowly linear-triangular, ribbed, leathery, margins involute, apex filiform-attenuate. Inflorescences: scape conspicuous, erect, 8--15 cm, 2--4 mm diam.; bracts densely imbricate, erect; sheath of bracts, especially upper ones, narrowing abruptly into blade; spikes erect, palmate (rarely simple), linear, compressed, 1--4 ´ 0.5--0.6 cm, apex acute; branches 1--5. Floral bracts imbricate, erect, green or tinged red, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), ovate, keeled only toward apex, 0.8--1.2 cm, thin-leathery, base not visible at anthesis, apex attenuate to acute, surfaces appressed-pale scaly, venation slight. Flowers 3--15, conspicuous; sepals with adaxial pair connate, elliptic, keeled, 0.8--1 cm, thin-leathery, veined, apex acute, surfaces slightly scaly; corolla tubular, petals erect, lavender, ligulate, 1.8--2.2 cm; stamens exserted; stigma exserted, conduplicate-spiral. Fruits 2--3 cm.

Flowering spring--fall. Epiphytic on a variety of hosts in swamps and humid forests; 0--60 m; Fla., Ga.; Mexico; West Indies; Central America.

It is probable that Mexican and Central American materials represent one or more additional species.