Close Up Pictures of a Tillandsia fasciculata , or Cardinal Air Plant in Bloom!

Tillandsia fasciculata , or Quill-Leaf , Cardinal Air Plant , Wild Pineapple are a few names I have heard this native Florida Bromeliad called. These grow wild all over the neighborhood, and while I was walking my property I came across this fallen limb that was full of them. I brought them back to the house and have been taking care of them since. These 2 have been blooming for weeks now. 1 is further along than the other. The interesting thing is that once these are done blooming they die. There are several new pups growing on this same limb so we will see if I can mange to grow the babies to bloom. Here are a few close ups of the plants growing on the limb I found.

Orchid Flower Close Ups

Tonight I finally set up a black background and took some close up pictures of a few of the blooming Phalaenopsis orchids. The first 2 pictures are the Gold Coin from an earlier post, but the rest of these are NOID yet orchids so if you can name any of these please let me know. So I must say these are some of my best pictures yet. The black background makes all the difference. If you click on the picture they have some incredible detail. It is so amazing how each orchid has its own unique features.