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Tillandsia picta Baker
Flaming sword
Flaming sword—what a cool name!—is native to eastern Venezuela and French Guiana.
It is not found in the wild in North America. Another name for it is Tillandsia tricolor var. picta.
Plants: This bromeliad is 2–3′ (60–91 cm) high.
It is an epiphyte, so it can live on rock or bark.
Leaves: Leathery, straplike linear leaves that emerge from a common base, in a rosette. Leaves are 1–1½′ (30–45 cm)
in length, and variegated or striped with maroon or brown.
Flowers: Flaming sword is an apt name: flowers are crimson, on a
narrow, erect, flattened spike, pointing straight up, 6–14″ (15–35 cm) tall. The spike tip,
2–7 ⨉ ⅝–⅞″ (6–18 ⨉ 1.8–2.5 cm) opens into a smaller flowering spikes,, each
1 ⨉ ⅝″ (3 ⨉ 1.8 cm).
Fruits: Capsules are thin cylinders, acute, about equaling the floral bracts
in size.
Habitats: Central American forests, at elevatiobns of
3937–4593′ (1.2–1.4 km).
