Red bromeliads in the cloud forests of Peru. Photo by Rhett A. Butler.
These bromeliads of the cloud forests of the Andes are epiphytes. While they grow on other plants, in these cases trees, they are not parasitic. Dubbed ‘air plants’, they survive off the rain and fog of the cloud forests.
A number of species depend on bromeliads for survival, such as certain insects and some species of tiny frogs. Poison arrow frogs often deposit a single tadpole in each bromeliad to keep it safe while it grows to an adult.
More bromeliads in the cloud forests of Peru. Photo by Rhett A. Butler.
More bromeliads in the cloud forests of Peru. Photo by Rhett A. Butler.
For more photos of bromeliads in Peru click here.