Tillandsia seleriana Plant profile No 3. 03/04/2021

Good morning everyone. Its a lovely sunny morning here in Mounts Bay Cornwall.

For this short blog I would like to showcase Tillandsia seleriana. It is a wonderful plant to grow and is one of the most amazing and extreme forms of growth in the Bromeliad world. It is shaped like a Rhino horn with big wide leaf bases that tapper to a point. The leaves are soft, mid green and covered in soft trichomes or hairs which make the plant feel like a Suede shoe.

This swollen plant base has makes a very interesting talking point because within these swollen leaf bases lives colonies of Ants. The plant and the ants have evolved together, symbiotically in a mutually beneficial relationship. The Ants have somewhere to live and the plant has an army of security guards and gains nutrients from their endeavours. There are several Tillandsia species that are capable of doing this. The technical term for a plant that hosts ants is a Myrmecophyte.

I will leave this a short blog and add more info and images over time.

If you like the post or want to ask any questions please leave a comment below.

Have a lovely weekend.