Editing Tillandsia (section)

==Ecology==
Species of ''Tillandsia'' [[Photosynthesis|photosynthesize]] through a process called [[Crassulacean acid metabolism|CAM cycle]], where they close their [[stomata]] during the day to prevent water loss and open them at night to fix [[carbon dioxide]] and release [[oxygen]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Groot Crego |first1=Clara |last2=Hess |first2=Jaqueline |last3=Yardeni |first3=Gil |last4=de La Harpe |first4=Marylaure |last5=Priemer |first5=Clara |last6=Beclin |first6=Francesca |last7=Saadain |first7=Sarah |last8=Cauz-Santos |first8=Luiz A |last9=Temsch |first9=Eva M |last10=Weiss-Schneeweiss |first10=Hanna |last11=Barfuss |first11=Michael H J |last12=Till |first12=Walter |last13=Weckwerth |first13=Wolfram |last14=Heyduk |first14=Karolina |last15=Lexer |first15=Christian |date=2024-04-30 |title=CAM evolution is associated with gene family expansion in an explosive bromeliad radiation |url=https://academic.oup.com/plcell/advance-article/doi/10.1093/plcell/koae130/7658667 |journal=The Plant Cell |volume=36 |issue=10 |pages=4109–4131 |language=en |doi=10.1093/plcell/koae130 |pmid=38686825 |pmc=11449062 |issn=1040-4651}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=David H. Benzing |year=2008 |title=Vascular Epiphytes: General Biology and Related Biota |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=9780521048958 |page=53 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-uqLQfbXl-kC&pg=PA53}}</ref> This allows them to preserve water, necessary because they are epiphytes. They do not have a functional root system and instead absorb water in small amounts through their leaves via small structures called trichomes. Species of ''Tillandsia'' also absorb their nutrients from debris and dust in the air.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Benzing|first1=David H.|last2=Burt|first2=Kathleen M.|date=1970|title=Foliar Permeability Among Twenty Species of the Bromeliaceae|jstor=2483646|journal=Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club|volume=97|issue=5|pages=269–279|doi=10.2307/2483646}}</ref>

Any root system found on ''Tillandsia'' has grown to act as a fragile stabilizing scaffold to grip the surface they grow on. As soon as they have been soaked with water, the green assimilation tissue below the suction scales becomes visible again, the plant is therefore "greened". Now the plant can absorb more light. When the sun dries the plants, they turn white. Thanks to this special survival trick, plants without roots can absorb fog droplets as well as rainwater and thus cover their water needs.<ref>Klaus Labude: Tillandsien. Tetra publishing house, Bissendorf Wulften, 2002, {{ISBN|3-89745-155-7}}</ref>

More than one-third of a tropical forest's vascular plants are epiphytes which species of ''Tillandsia'' are part of. Their contribution to the environment's [[carrying capacity]] allows for terrestrial fauna like earthworms to thrive in the treetops.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Benzing|first=David|title=Air Plants : Epiphytes and Aerial Gardens|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=2012|isbn=9780801463877|location=Proquest|pages=197–198}}</ref>

Temperature is not critical, the range being from {{convert|10|to|32|C|F}}. Frost hardiness depends on the species. [[Tillandsia usneoides|''T. usneoides'']], for example, can tolerate night-time frosts down to about {{convert|-10|C|F}}. For most species, the ideal growth temperature is between {{convert|20|and|25|C|F}}, with a minimum of {{convert|10|C|F}} and a maximum of {{convert|30|C|F}}. Few are resistant to {{convert|-10|C|F}}, but some, usually from higher elevation areas, are hardy enough to withstand light and brief freezes and live outdoors year round in areas with mild winters.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Benzing|first1=David H.|last2=Dahle|first2=Christopher E.|date=1971|title=The Vegetative Morphology, Habitat Preference and Water Balance Mechanisms of the Bromeliad Tillandsia ionantha Planch|jstor=2423907|journal=The American Midland Naturalist|volume=85|issue=1|pages=11–21|doi=10.2307/2423907}}</ref>