Tillandsia utriculata

Tillandsia utriculata, commonly known as the spreading airplant or the giant airplant, is a species of bromeliad that is native to Florida and Georgia in the United States, the Caribbean, southern and eastern Mexico (Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Oaxaca, the Yucatán Peninsula), Central America, and Venezuela. Two varieties are recognized: Florida populations of Tillandsia utriculata are highly susceptible to attack by the invasive weevil Metamasius callizona, and have been devastated virtually throughout their range. Tillandsia utriculata holds more impounded water in its leaf axils (up to a liter) than does any other Florida bromeliad. Accordingly, it is much the major host of aquatic invertebrate animals. Loss of habitat for those animals compounds the disaster of destruction of the plants.