Guzmania cuzcoensis
Guzmania cuzcoensis is a Peruvian tank bromeliad described by L.B. Smith in 1972 from the Cusco region, where the few wild records sit at 1,900 to 2,175 m in the cloud forest of the Urubamba valley around Machu Picchu. Unlike most of the genus it lives with a real seasonal cycle: a wet, mild summer from December to March and a dry, sunnier winter from May to September with cool nights. Growers should mimic that drier winter rather than water evenly all year.
Where it grows wild
An epiphyte, probably also on mossy rock, in the montane cloud forest of the eastern Andean slope in Cusco. It sits on branches and trunks in filtered light where dry-season fog drip keeps the tank from emptying.
Recorded from 1,900 to 2,175 m (median 2,175 m) from four records; the band is narrow and the profile assumes 1,800 to 2,400 m.
🔒 Growing it like that
The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:
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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.