Guzmania Ruiz & Pav.

Overview

Guzmania belongs to the bromeliad family, Bromeliaceae; Kew gives its native range as Florida to tropical America, and WCVP accepts more than two hundred species, listed below. University of Florida IFAS describes guzmanias as common houseplants with smooth green leaves and showy flower spikes, some of which can be grown outdoors in frost-free areas.

The scarlet star of the pot-plant trade is mainly G. lingulata and its hybrids. Kew records it as native to south-eastern Mexico to tropical America, a perennial or epiphyte growing chiefly in the wet tropics.

Classification and characters

WCVP cites Ruiz and Pavón’s Flora Peruviana et Chilensis vol. 3 (1802) as the place of publication and sinks Massangea, Schlumbergeria, Sodiroa and Thecophyllum, among others, as synonyms.

University of Florida IFAS explains two bromeliad traits. Epiphytes are not parasites: they use trees only for support and make their own energy. And bromeliads take in water and nutrients mainly through their leaves and the cups formed by their leaf bases. Light changes leaf colour, shape and growth rate: too little gives long, thin, greener leaves, and too much gives shorter, thicker, paler ones. Flower spikes last from a few weeks to as long as six months in some genera.

Distribution

WCVP records the genus as native to 32 TDWG botanical regions and introduced in 1 more.

BahamasBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil West-CentralCentral American Pacific Is.ColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorFloridaFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaLeeward Is.Mexico GulfMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestNicaraguaPanamáPeruPuerto RicoSurinameTrinidad-TobagoVenezuelaVenezuelan AntillesWindward Is.

Introduced

Bermuda

Accepted species

WCVP accepts 217 species; names with × are natural hybrids. The count changes with revisions; checked 2026-10-28.

Historic plates

Plates in date order; the printed names are kept as they appear, current names are on the species pages and the topic page.

• 

  Tillandsia lingulata

  Plantarum indigenarum et exoticarum icones ad vivum coloratae · 1789
  
• 

  Gusmannia tricolor

  Exotic Flora · 163* · 1827
  
• 

  Guzmannia tricolor

  Curtis's Botanical Magazine · 5220 · 1860
  Walter Hood Fitch

Care and safety

University of Florida IFAS warns that some mosquitoes breed in bromeliad cups; flushing them regularly with fresh water keeps them free of larvae, or Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) products can be sprinkled in the cups.

The ASPCA has no entry for Guzmania itself; it lists the related blushing bromeliads, Neoregelia, as non-toxic to dogs and cats.

Further reading

• Reference library

References

1. WCVP · World Checklist of Vascular Plants (via ChecklistBank dataset 2232) · accessed 2026-10-28
2. Kew (POWO data on the ColPlanta site) · Guzmania native range
3. Kew (POWO data on the ColPlanta site) · Guzmania lingulata native range and life form
4. University of Florida IFAS Gardening Solutions · Bromeliads
5. ASPCA Animal Poison Control · Blushing Bromeliad (Neoregelia)