Quill-Leaf Air Plant at Big Cypress National Preserve

Quill-Leaf Air Plant at Big Cypress National Preserve

Like Spanish Moss, the Quill Leaf is also an air plant. This year they bloomed later than normal so we were treated to their beautiful colors throughout the Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida where they had attached themselves to cypress and fir trees.

From a distance they resemble birds nests, but on closer inspection they are a beautiful flowering parasitic plant that grow to 24 inches, with 6' flowers. They are generally found in Florida's cypress swamps.

Created by: Travlynwomyn.

Tools Used: KonicaMinolta DiMage A2

Created on: February, 2007

Image Views: 94

Average Views per Day: 0.2

Image Number: 36556

Comments:

TravlynWomyn from Midland, Virginia - for 2 weeks on Apr 8, 2007 at 7:14 PM said:

Thank you Lorraine and Beverly. It was a treat to see it in bloom.

Vicki

Talsi- from WNC -USA on Apr 8, 2007 at 6:03 PM said:

Nicely composed and very interesting about the air plant.

lorraine from NZ on Apr 8, 2007 at 5:15 PM said:

great shot, very interesting info on the plant, flowers look lovely.

TravlynWomyn from Midland, Virginia- for 2 weeks on Apr 8, 2007 at 12:28 PM said:

I'm glad you liked this, Alan. They remind me of the Bird of Paradise plant. All air plants attach themselves to living plants,(unlike Kudzo vine they live compatibly with their host tree)but the Quill Leaf prefers cypress and pine. How it decides where it will root is beyond me!

A few weeks earlier, while driving across Alligator Alley to Fort Lauderdale, I saw many Anhingas in these trees and assumed they were nesting. They may have been nesting, but the 'nests' were huge clumps of this beautiful air plant, as a volunteer informed me in the Big Cypress National Preserve.

They're normally done blooming in January, so this was a huge treat and another lesson learned about South Florida plants.

Another important fact - all wild plants in Florida are protected and carry a high fine if picked. Vicki

Alan (Bubbalinn) from Golden Valley, Arizona on Apr 8, 2007 at 10:45 AM said:

Beautiful photo of the Quill Leaf. I have never seen these or heard of them before. The blooms are really pretty. They look like a cactus with extra pretty blooms. I take it that they don't hurt the trees. Very interesting, Thanks for sharing this different plant.

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