''Aechmea zebrina'' is a plant

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Aechmea ''Aechmea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae (subfamily Bromelioideae). The name comes from the Greek ''aichme'', meaning "spear". Suggested pronunciations include and . ''Aechmea'' comprises eight subgenera and around ...

''. This species is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

;Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> it is relatively common in the lowland Amazon region of eastern Ecuador and southern Colombia. ''Aechmea zebrina'' is a large

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

bromeliad that can grow more than 1 metre tall and wide and hold nearly 4 litres of water between its leaves. It typically occurs in the upper canopy of overstory trees at heights of 18–45 m. A single tree can host more than 150 ''Aechmea zebrina''. Aechmea zebrina in situ

Cultivars

* ''Aechmea'' 'Hercules'BSI Cultivar Registry
Retrieved 11 October 2009 * ''Aechmea'' 'Orinoco' * × ''Neomea'' 'Valli'

References

zebrina ''Zebrina'' is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Species Species in the genus ''Zebrina'' include: * '' Zebrina detrita'' (O. F. Müller, 1774) * '' Zebrina fasciolata'' (Oli ...

Flora of Ecuador Flora of Colombia Plants described in 1953 {{Aechmea-stub