tillandsia Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun large genus of epiphytic or terrestrial sparse-rooting tropical plants usually forming dense clumps or pendant masses
    genus Tillandsia.

WordNet

Til*land"si*a noun
Etymology
NL. So named after Prof. Tillands, of Abo, in Finland.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A genus of epiphytic endogenous plants found in the Southern United States and in tropical America. Tillandsia usneoides, called long moss, black moss, Spanish moss, and Florida moss, has a very slender pendulous branching stem, and forms great hanging tufts on the branches of trees. It is often used for stuffing mattresses.

Webster 1913