The Nature Coast Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society meets the second Tuesday of every month at 7:00pm at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd/US 41, Land O’ Lakes, 34639, between SR 52 and SR 54. The subject of the Tuesday, November 14, 2017 meeting is “Florida Native Bromeliads” presented by Tom Wolfe. Bromeliads (often called “air plants”) are members of the pineapple family Bromeliaceae and are flowering plants, although their blossoms can be very small.
They are not mosses as some of their common names suggest. All of Florida’s 16 native bromeliad species are epiphytic, which means they grow on other plants, but they do not parasitize the host plant—they simply use it for support. Ten of these native bromeliad species are listed as threatened or endangered through loss of habitat, illegal collecting, and a bromeliad weevil.
Tom has been growing bromeliads for over 50 years and has been president of the Bromeliad Guild of Tampa Bay, Inc. many times. He is past president of the Bromeliad Society International (BSI), been on the BSI board for 14 years, and is an Internationally Accredited Master Bromeliad Judge.
Meetings of the Chapter are free, and all interested parties are invited to attend, to bring questions about their yard, and participate in light refreshments and the native plant drawing. Telephone inquiries are taken by Sandy at (727) 207-1853.
Chapter website: http://www.pasconativeplants.org.