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Species library › Tillandsia › Tillandsia sphaerocephala
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Tillandsia sphaerocephala

Tillandsia sphaerocephala is a Bolivian high-Andean tillandsia that grows on rocks and shrubs in semi-arid inter-Andean valleys, especially around La Paz at 3,000–3,500 m. It forms dense masses of prostrate old stems with erect leafy tips, and has a rounded head of pink bracts and lavender-blue petals. It needs strong sun, dry air, cold nights and a pronounced dry winter.

Tillandsia sphaerocephala
Photo: Timm Stolten, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night A clear drop at nightTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Saxicolous and epiphytic. Collectors record it forming dense masses on rocky outcrops, gravelly slopes and earth banks in semi-arid scrub with Prosopis, Acacia, Ephedra, Dodonaea, Baccharis and Puya. It also grows on Trichocereus cacti and on the trunks and branches of shrubs as part of xerophytic epiphyte communities.

The Encyclopaedia of Bromeliads gives 950–3,550 m. Most GBIF records are from about 2,700–3,600 m in the La Paz and Cochabamba valleys, with outliers near 1,500 m in Santa Cruz and Chuquisaca.

Bolivia

🔒 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 CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.