Guzmania retusa
An epiphytic tank bromeliad of humid premontane and montane forest, on the eastern Andean slopes from Colombia to Bolivia and in the Guiana Highlands of Venezuela and Guyana. Guzmania cerifera is a synonym. It is a plant of the wet, shaded mid-elevation forest, so it wants steady warmth, high humidity, soft water in the cup and bright shade.
Where it grows wild
Collectors record it growing on trees and tree trunks in evergreen premontane and montane forest. Examples include dense forest on sandy clay near a waterfall on Mt Maringma in Guyana, montane evergreen forest with abundant epiphytes near Mt Ayanganna, peaty scrub forest on the Wassarai Mountains, and forest remnants in the Cordillera del Cóndor.
Most records are from about 900 to 1700 m, with the Colombian flora giving 1200 to 1350 m and a few labels from Loja at about 2150 m. A label of 300 m in Podocarpus National Park is probably an error, because the Bombuscaro area there lies near 1000 m.
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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.