Vriesea procera
Vriesea procera is a large, variable tank bromeliad of eastern Brazil and northern South America, best known from the Atlantic coast where it grows both as an epiphyte and as a sun-loving terrestrial plant in restinga, the sandy coastal scrub behind the beaches. Its tall branched inflorescences carry distichous yellow-to-red bracts, and several varieties are recognised. In cultivation it is a tough, bright-light bromeliad that wants warmth, a filled tank and a very free-draining base.
Where it grows wild
Brazilian herbarium and field records describe it as a terrestrial, heliophilous herb among woody restinga vegetation on Holocene coastal sands, and also as an epiphyte in coastal and lower montane Atlantic Forest. Plants in restinga sit in open or lightly shaded scrub; epiphytic plants usually occupy the brighter outer canopy.
Mostly near sea level in restinga, extending inland into Atlantic Forest; the few Brazilian records seen carry no elevation, and an upper limit around 1,000 m is an estimate rather than a documented figure.
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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 2.0 licence, unmodified.