aechmea fasciata, commonly called urn plant or silver vase plant. in its native habitat, it will grow in the ground or in trees without taking any nourishment from the tree. this is a stemless plant that typically grows 1-3' tall in a basal rosette of stiff, arching, broad, strap-shaped, elliptic-oval, silvery-green leaves which resemble an urn. leaf margins have black spines.