Go Tillies!
If you’re after another plant obsession, why not try Tillandsia, a.k.a. air plants! Tillandsias are epiphytes which means they don’t put their roots in soil, rather they use their roots to attach themselves to trees and rocks and get all their nutrients and water from the air around them. But don’t be fooled thinking that they all hail from humid forests, some actually come from arid deserts.
The relatively common T. bergeri likes to grow on rock cliffs in South America.
Tillandsias can be roughly divided into two groups - xeric and mesic. Xeric comes from the Greek word xeros, which means dry, while mesic comes from the Greek word mesos, which means medium or moderate and refers to their water needs. And when it comes to their water requirements it’s all about their trichomes - fine epidermal outgrowths which in Tillandsia are like fuzzy hairs. The more arid the location, the more fuzzy they usually are, because they need to absorb all the moisture they can. You’ll also find that the xeric Tillandsias tend to be more silvery coloured which helps them reflect the heat.
Tillandsias are in the Bromeliaceae family and therefore lots of them use CAM photosynthesis, which allows them to open their stomata and ‘breathe’ during the cooler night - reducing water loss in hot places. Like bromeliads, they also tend to die after they’ve flowered, but they will send out pups, or little babies to keep your collection going. Their flowers range from long spectacular peduncles tipped with fragrant blooms (like T. straminea), to short colourful bracts bearing equally colourful flowers (e.g. T. stricta) and everything in between. Some even have a change in leaf colour such as T. ionatha.
The fragrant flower of T. straminea
While generally being an ornamental plant, Spanish Moss (T. usneoides) has a history of being used for stuffing pillows and mattresses, particularly in the southern United States, where it’s well known for draping over trees in abundance. Beware though, it can be full of mites -so if you do go green with your upholstery at home, don’t let the bed bugs bite!
The furry T. gardneri nestled in amongst some Spanish moss (T. usneoides).