''Tillandsia fasciculata'', commonly known as the giant airplant or cardinal airplant, is a

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 ...

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

that 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 ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, northern

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(

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

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, northern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

), and the southeastern

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(

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

).Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>Flora of North America, cardinal airplant, ''Tillandsia fasciculata'' Swartz, Prodr. 56. 1788.
/ref>Biota of North America Program, 2013 county range map
/ref> Within the United States, this airplant is at risk of

extirpation Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

from the Mexican bromeliad weevil, ''

Metamasius callizona ''Metamasius callizona'', or the Mexican bromeliad weevil, is in an invasive species in Florida, USA that targets several species of bromeliad. This species is native to southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Panama, and was first documented in Florid ...

''.

Varieties and cultivars

Four varieties are recognized: #''Tillandsia fasciculata'' var. ''clavispica'' Mez - Florida, Cuba, southern Mexico, Cayman Islands #''Tillandsia fasciculata'' var. ''densispica'' Mez - Florida, southern and eastern Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Hispaniola #''Tillandsia fasciculata'' var. ''fasciculata'' - most of species range #''Tillandsia fasciculata'' var. ''laxispica'' Mez - central Mexico, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Cuba Several

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s have been named:BSI Cultivar Registry
Retrieved 11 October 2009 * ''Tillandsia'' 'Beauty' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Casallena' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Cathcart' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Chevalieri' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Chiquininga' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Ervin Wurthmann' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Florida' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Hines Poth' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Jalapa Fortin' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Latas au Pair' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Maria Teresa L.' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Miz Ellen' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Neerdie' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Pachuca' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Silver Bullets' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Summer Dawn' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Sybil Frasier' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Tropiflora' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Unamit' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Verraco' * ''Tillandsia'' 'Veteran'

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7802527 fasciculata Plants described in 1788 Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of Central America Flora of Mexico Flora of South America Taxa named by Olof Swartz Flora without expected TNC conservation status