It should be noted that old inflorescences and dried specimens often exhibit spreading floral bracts obscuring the nearly terete nature of the branches of the fresh, living plant.
A few plants of Tillandsia subteres in American horticulture have been misidentified and distributed as T copanensis Rauh. The latter species is very different in flower and occurs on vertical rock faces, not on the more level stony ground at the base of cliffs favored by T subteres. According to Dennis Cathcart, who recently visited the type population of T subteres, the plants are numerous but the very rough terrain and lack of nearby roads make access difficult and dangerous. A large, cultivated population is maintained by Enrique Kamm at his Valle de Angeles nursery. —SeeLuther 1993dp. 43(1): 18-21
