Tillandsia xerographica
A large, silvery, slow-growing xerophytic air plant from the seasonally dry forests and thorn scrub of southern Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador. It grows high in the outer branches of trees, where it gets intense light, hot days, a long dry season and quick drying after rain. It is CITES Appendix II listed because wild collecting has depleted it. Grow it bright, warm and airy, and never let it stay wet.
Where it grows wild
An epiphyte on the upper, outer branches of trees in tropical dry deciduous forest and thorn scrub. Many host trees drop their leaves in the dry season, leaving the plants in near full sun. The dense grey trichome covering reflects light and captures moisture from dew and brief rains.
The literature gives about 140–600 m. The measured wild records span 20–887 m with a median of 464 m, broadly consistent, with a few records a little lower and higher.
🔒 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. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.