Tillandsia variabilis

Tillandsia variabilis, the leatherleaf airplant,^[3] is a species of bromeliad in the genus Tillandsia. This species is native to Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico (Veracruz, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí, Tabasco, Chiapas, Yucatán, Puebla), Venezuela, Colombia, the West Indies and southern Florida.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]}

Tillandsia variabilis
Illustration as Tillandsia sublaxa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Bromeliaceae
Genus:	Tillandsia
Subgenus:	Tillandsia subg. Tillandsia
Species:	T. variabilis
Binomial name
Tillandsia variabilis Schltdl.
Synonyms[1][2]
Platystachys moritziana Beer Tillandsia brachypoda Baker Tillandsia domingensis Mez Tillandsia houzeavii Chapm. Tillandsia laxa Griseb. Tillandsia moritziana Beer Tillandsia polystachia var. alba Wittm. Tillandsia sublaxa Baker Tillandsia valenzuelana A. Rich.

Tillandsia variabilis is an epiphyte growing in the branches of various trees in moist forests. It is up to 40 cm long including the inflorescence, usually single but occasionally in clumps. Leaves are narrowly triangular, soft and brittle, up to 30 cm long. Inflorescence is usually simple, sometimes with 2–3 branches but never palmately branched. Bracts are red, green or purple, less than 1 cm wide, covering and obscuring the rachis. Flowers are lavender to blue, up to 3 cm long.^{[4][9][12][13][14][15][16][17]}