tillandsia

American

[ti-land-zee-uh] / tɪˈlænd zi ə /

noun

any of numerous, chiefly epiphytic bromeliads of the genus Tillandsia, including Spanish moss and many species cultivated as ornamentals.

tillandsia British

/ tɪˈlændzɪə /

noun

any bromeliaceous epiphytic plant of the genus Tillandsia, such as Spanish moss, of tropical and subtropical America

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tillandsia

< New Latin (Linnaeus), after Elias Tillands, 17th-century Finno-Swedish botanist; -ia

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The outfits are made of colorful living material, including headdresses of tillandsia, or air plants, and tresses of huperzia, a tropical clubmoss.

From Seattle Times

His next suggestion: “Any other Tillandsia.”

From Seattle Times

Distinctive Tillandsia funckiana looks like what might happen if a giant caterpillar were crossed with a soft-needled conifer.

From Seattle Times

The largest air plant, Tillandsia xerographica, a spiral of silver tentacle-like leaves, is another favorite.

From Seattle Times

South Bay Bromeliad Associates members will be displaying their own bromeliads, including specimens of tillandsia, neoregelia, dyckia, vriesea, aechmea, billbergia and guzmanias.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023