The desert epiphyte Tillandsia recurvata harbours the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Pseudomonas stutzeri

Pseudomonas stutzeri, a nitrogen-fixing bacterium, was isolated from the interior of the desert epiphyte Tillandsia recurvata, which grows on electrical cables and giant columnar cacti in the semiarid zone of Baja California, Mexico. This study is the first to indicate the possible close association between bromeliad plants and nitrogen-fixing bacteria.