Tillandsia utriculata, commonly known as the spreading airplant, the giant airplant,[3] or wild pine is a species of bromeliad that is native to Florida and Georgia in the United States, the Caribbean, southern and eastern Mexico (Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Oaxaca, the Yucatán Peninsula), Central America, and Venezuela.

[2][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Two varieties are recognized:[2] Florida populations of Tillandsia utriculata are highly susceptible to attack by the invasive weevil Metamasius callizona, and have been devastated throughout their range.

[12] Tillandsia utriculata holds more impounded water in its leaf axils, known as its tank, (up to a liter) than does any other Florida bromeliad.

It is a major host of many species of aquatic invertebrates.

With T. utriculata on a steady decline, a loss of habitat is occurring for many of these animal species.