For Aerelonian!

After receiving the comment from Aerelonian, over at Plant Zone on my last post after seeing the wild Bromeliads, I decided I needed to go ahead and post all the pics I took of the broms (tillandsias) I had seen at the wetland area. I had some confusion as to whether they are REAL bromeliads, and found out that according to Renee Maxwell at Univ. of South Florida:
"The term "bromeliad" is used to refer to members of the family Bromeliaceae, which contains three subfamilies. All of Florida's 16 native bromeliads are members of the subfamily Tillandsioideae. Bromeliads are also known as "air plants" because many of them are epiphytes. An epiphyte is any plant that grows on another plant, but does not parasitize its host. Some bromeliads are facultative epiphytes, meaning they are also able to grow terrestrially; whereas others are obligate epiphytes and are unable to grow in the soil. The latter have a very reduced root system or none at all, and if present it is used mainly for grasping onto the branches of its host. Florida's bromeliads fall into both of these categories."

Yeah...now I have my answer! They are Bromeliads, AND they are tillandsias!
Hope you enjoy the photos, and now you see why you need to consider south Florida for your new job location, Aerelonian! :)

I only wish I had found more of them in bloom! I have been out before and just seen hundreds in bloom. I will keep my eyes open for these in the future!