Native records: 1 botanical areas
Brazil Southeast
See all areasNatural distribution
Explore mapNativeIntroducedUncertain
Distribution is shown as WGSRPD Level 3 areas. It does not imply the species occurs throughout an entire area.
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Distribution last verified:
An epiphytic bromeliad in the family Bromeliaceae, native to the coastal Atlantic forests of southeastern Brazil. It forms a rosette of silver-banded leaves and produces a long-lasting pink inflorescence of overlapping bracts with violet flowers, making it one of the most popular ornamental bromeliads worldwide.
Description
An evergreen, epiphytic perennial reaching about 30–60 cm tall. The leathery, grey-green leaves are banded with silvery transverse markings and arranged in a rosette that forms a central tank holding water and detritus. At flowering, a pink scape rises from the tank and bears a cone-like inflorescence of tightly imbricate rose-pink bracts, from which small violet flowers emerge sequentially over several weeks to months. The colourful bracts persist long after the flowers fade. As an epiphyte, it roots on tree branches and rocks and absorbs water and nutrients primarily through its leaf tank rather than the roots. It prefers bright indirect light and high humidity.
Habitat
An epiphyte in the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) of southeastern Brazil, growing on tree branches and rocks in moist lowland and lower montane forest.
Distribution areas
Brazil
- Brazil SoutheastNative
Puerto Rico
- Puerto RicoIntroduced
Climate of the native range
The Köppen climate classes found in the areas this plant is recorded as native to. It does not mean an entire area has that climate.
- Aw Tropical, savannah
- Cwa Temperate, dry winter, hot summer
The same climate occurs in 54 areas worldwide, 53 of which have no record of this plant. See them on the map
A matching climate does not mean the plant can grow there. Range limits are also set by things other than climate — dispersal history, soils, competition. Source: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0 (observed period 1991–2020).
Other names
Urn plant、Aechmea、Coral bromeliad、Silver vase bromeliad、Silver vase plant
- Family
- Bromeliaceae
- Genus
- Aechmea
Other species in Aechmea
Sources
World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Brazil · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Puerto Rico · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open source
Image information
Photograph of Aechmea fasciata
Paul & Aline Burland · CC BY-SA 2.0 · File page