Tillandsia Cages

These air plants which are a type of bromiliad (tillandsia utriculata), are an endangered plant. These bromilliads like to grow on high up branches/vines in order to be able to collect the nutrients they need by catching rainwater as well as access to the sun. There used to be thousands of this particular species throughout the forest but their numbers have dwindled down to the hundreds. This is due to an invasive species of burrowing weevil that lays its eggs inside the plant. Once the eggs hatch the growing weevils eat their way out of the plant and kill it. This presents a problem since it takes roughly 20 years for these plants to reach maturity. It takes that long for them to grow large enough to reseed, immediately after which they die.

These cages are part of a project to protect the bromiliads once they get large enough to be in danger from the weevil eggs. You may be able to spot smaller ones in the canopy on your way through the Mesic Hammock.