In the plant kingdom, air plants are an indispensable creation of nature and have recently grown in popularity. Due to their uniqueness, they can absorb water and nutrients through fuzzy trichomes present on the leaf surface. They belong to the epiphyte group.
Tillandsia is the most xeric and primitive of the bromeliads. Tillandsia cultivars are distributed in Mexico, South America, Central America, the southern United States, and the PhytoCaribbean.
They are known for accumulating heavy metals in the air. It is therefore an excellent biological monitor for atmospheric purification. In addition to their medicinal value, their appearance makes them aesthetic and iconic ornamental plants.
Because they grow dangling in the air without any soil as a medium. These are low maintenance plants as they only need to be watered once or twice a week. As such, they make a great sample in a florist’s collection of ornamental curiosities.
The role of plants in nature is very important. They are a precious gift from nature to ecosystems. Variety is the mother of enjoyment. Thus, nature has created vivid diversity in the plant kingdom.
From the tiniest plants to the tallest trees that almost touch the sky, it’s all a manifestation of nature. One of nature’s bounties to man is the science of horticulture with its different branches.
Major cereal crops such as wheat, rice and sorghum are well known food crops. The world is looking for horticultural crops that satisfy human nutritional safety and aesthetic value. Fruits and vegetables as protective foods dominate this particular area because they contain high amounts of minerals and vitamins that are important for sustaining life. Herbs and spices, commonly known as high-value products in small batches, are important for boosting the nation’s economy.
Medicinal and aromatic crops play an important role in maintaining human health and increasing personal luxury. Post-harvest techniques help handle processing, minimize storage losses and extend the shelf life of horticultural products.
Due to its gorgeous blooming flowers, floral arrangements have the ability to remove the stress and troubles of the mind, thereby being truly pleasing to the eye, bringing joy to the mind, and helping the mind bloom with beautiful thoughts.
And this kind of magical plant called air plant belongs to the epiphytic group of Tillandsia genus, with different shapes and sizes. It is indeed a magical plant suitable for viewing and growing in nature.
What Do We Know About Air Plants?
Air plants belong to the largest member of the bromeliad genus, containing about 650 species of evergreen, perennial flowering plants. It belongs to the Bromeliaceae family. Tillandsia is the most xeric and primitive of the bromeliads.
Tillandsia cultivars are distributed in Mexico, South America, Central America, the southern United States, and the PhytoCaribbean. All air plants are bromeliads, but not all bromeliads are air plants. It was found to grow on the bark as a support.
How Are These Plants Different From Other Plants?
Usually these plants grow on soil or hydroponically, while Tillandsia grows on soilless media. The best option is to use air itself as the medium.
Unlike other plants that use their roots to absorb water and nutrients, Tillandsia uses specialized trichomes on the leaf surface to absorb water and nutrients from the air, which is the most striking feature of this amazing plant.
Using scanning electron microscopy, it was found that fully developed Tillandsia trichomes developed on the epidermis of leaves . The trichomes of capillary action between the epidermal surfaces are responsible for the distribution of water on the epidermal surface, which makes these trichomes highly specialized.
Tillandsia lacks functional roots that, without any absorptive capacity, convert into crampons for attachment to surfaces. Furthermore, they are monocarpic in nature, and they can be isolated to produce so-called seedlings, which can be isolated and used as propagules.
Their flowers display striking colors, ranging from deep purple to red and, shortly after, white.
What Are Their Types?
It is classified as mesophyte and xerophyte. Mesic colonies are greener and prefer high humidity. The Xeric group is silver-gray grown in dry conditions. Tillandsia varies from species to species, with striking morphological features. Table 1 lists the different species of orchids and their origins.
List of different Tillandsia species found around the world:
- 1 Tillandsia caput Medusa Central America and Mexico
- 2 Tillandsia ionantha Central America and Mexico
- 3 Tillandsia cyanea Ecuadorian rainforest
- 4 Tillandsia kolbii Oaxaca, Chiapas and Guatemala
- 5 Tillandsia brachycaulos Mexico, Central America and Venezuela
- 6 Tillandsia bulbesa America, West Indies, southern Mexico
- 7 Tillandsia capitalata Mexico, Honduras, Cuba and the Dominican Republic
- 8 Tillandsia cacticolaPeru
- 9 Tillandsia streptophylla Central America, Mexico and West Indies
- 10 Tillandsia didisticha Bolivia and Brazil
How useful are these wonders of nature?
As a Biomonitor
Some research work carried out on bellflower has shown that it can be useful in removing heavy metal pollutants from the atmosphere. T. usneoides has been shown to be an effective atmospheric accumulator for mercury, cadmium.
Mechanisms of phytoremediation of chromium, lead, nickel, copper, chromium, carbon and zinc. They are commonly used as biomarkers and biomonitors of air pollution. Even under the stressful environmental conditions prevalent in the heavy metal industry (such as high temperatures, high mercury concentrations, and oxidative environments), T. usneoides is also an effective biomonitor of atmospheric mercury levels.
Tillandsia caput-meduage has proven to be an excellent test organism for monitoring air pollution and is therefore recommended for use in all Latin American countries.
Tillandsia usneoides have high potential for monitoring strontium-contaminated environments and have been shown to withstand strontium stress for long periods of time and are resistant to strontium toxicity.
Formaldehyde (FA) is one of the major indoor pollutants and must be removed to reduce its toxicity. Even exposure of plants to mild concentrations of 0.2-0.4 (mM) hindered Arabidopsis root elongation and growth.
High concentrations of gaseous formaldehyde can cause leaf necrosis and yellowing in Arabidopsis, tobacco and geranium. When Tillandsia villi were exposed to FA , the above-mentioned trichomes were found to absorb FA from the surface in order to protect the leaves, which was beneficial to the plant’s greater absorption of FA.
As a medicinal plant
Cancer has always been one of the deadliest diseases. The flavonoid isolated from Tillandsia recurvata (L.) exhibits potent anticancer activity, and the results highlight that it can inhibit different types of cancer, such as breast cancer, brain cancer, and neuroblastoma ( Lowe, 2017 ). L- asparaginase is an enzyme with powerful anticancer properties.
It is also used as a substitute in the food industry to reduce acrylamide, a potentially carcinogenic compound, in food. Sources of the enzymes are commercially produced from two fungi: Aspergillus oryzae and Aniger. Therefore, the requirements of this enzyme must be met to reduce the activity of carcinogenic compounds.
The leaves of Tillandsia catimbauensis are known to contain 184 endophyte species, 52 of which belong to the genus Penicillium and Talaromyces spp. Of 20 endophytic fungi tested in liquid media , 10 exhibited the ability to produce L- asparaginase, and leukemia has killed around 250,000 people worldwide, making it a deadly disease.
Jamaican bulbs (Tillandsia recurvata ) successfully inhibited the proliferative activity of certain leukemia cell lines ( Lowe et al ., 2014 ).
As Decoration
Due to their attractive different shapes, sizes, colors and leaves, they command a very high price in the market.
They are specifically used to create beautiful riverbanks that mimic the wetlands of the Amazon rainforest. Also, they survive in terrariums. Enriches the beauty of any room space.
Small table decorations such as polished wooden supports, driftwood, ceramic hand rests and polished stones have been widely used to hold these air plants in place for gorgeous home decoration (Figure 4 ).
How To Maintain Air Plants?
Tillandsia utriculata exhibits high adaptability even under different altitude climatic conditions , thus suggesting that it is highly plastic in nature. Low temperature is not a limiting factor for growing Tillandsia usneoides. Tillandsia is moderately tolerant to drought compared to other succulents.
Air plants are plants with low water requirements, but water requirements vary from species to species. Typically, daily watering is necessary, or the plants can be submerged in water for about an hour per week.
They like to soak in the rain because some nutrients have been dissolved in the rain. Liquid fertilizers can also be sprayed. But management is possible even in the absence of these fertilizers.
Looking Forward To The Future
They can be used to create healing gardens that take away a lot of stress and bring relief to people. Therefore, it is possible to see these air plants in many workplaces in the near future. They can provide a soothing effect on the suffering mind.
As biomonitors, they are widely used to accumulate heavy metals from the air, preventing many health hazards and keeping the environment healthier. As medicinal plants, they have great potential to fight cancer and other deadly diseases, which makes them important plants for the development of anticancer drugs.
Air plants have great potential in landscaping, adding to the beauty of both indoor and outdoor spaces. They definitely make a great focal point, not only in gardens but in open spaces as well. They can be used extensively in workspaces to enhance the positivity of the surrounding atmosphere.
Conclusion
Therefore, air plants are an ideal ornamental plant with many unique morphological features, medicinal and environmental benefits, in addition to their aesthetic value.
In today’s booming landscape industry, air plants can be a very practical gem in a corporate office, as they have good attractive features through which they can reduce stress for individuals as well as increase biomonitoring effects, where they can absorb the presence of atmospheric pollutants.
Toxic Chemicals. So air plants can add vitality to urban concrete jungles with minimal attention.
