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Species library › Aechmea › Aechmea bracteata
Other Well documented

Aechmea bracteata

A large, tough tank bromeliad of lowland Mexico and Central America, famous for hosting ant colonies in its swollen leaf bases. It grows high and exposed in seasonally dry forest, so it wants strong light, warmth and a drier spell, not a humid terrarium.

Aechmea bracteata
Photo: Jim Conrad, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Grows mainly as an epiphyte in the upper canopy of lowland semi-evergreen and seasonally dry forest, also on rocks and fallen trees; its bulbous base is regularly colonised by ants.

Recorded from sea level to about 2,100 m, but the median record is 103 m: essentially a lowland plant.

MexicoBelizeGuatemalaHondurasNicaraguaCosta RicaPanamaColombiaVenezuela

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its Public domain licence, unmodified.