The bromeliad in the photo is Tillandsia cyanea. But if your flower spike is dark red, I'm not so sure it's this species -- might be a hybrid. We'll let the experts figure that out.

well I was trying to differentiate between the lighter/reddish pinks...and what I have. The picture I linked looks almost identical to what I have as far as the flower spike...but my leaves are MUCH MUCH darker. I had thought there was no color variation on the leaves, but closer inspection shows that there is burgandy streaking near the center. I looked up the cyanea but its so HARD to know for sure yanno? Mine could be a younger plant than the pictures Im finding. The ones I found the flower spikes were way to pink for what I have, and there are many spikes instead of the just one that I have in my plant.

This plant ID business is hard LOL

Some cultivars of T. cyanea, like Anita and Sandy, have darker red bracts than others (see link).

Here is a link that might be useful: Tillandsia cyanea cvs. - FCBS

anyone know the difference between the cyanea and the lindenii? The only thing I can find said the difference is the length of the leaves...if thats the case than mine has to be a lindenii instead of a cyanea..my leaves are like 10 inches long or so..maybe 12 inches while its sitting in a 4' pot LOL.

Im also intrigued about the idea of pulling it out of the soil its in and trying to mount it. Im totally knew to bromeliads so anything anyone could chime in with would be greatly appreciated. So much info on the web in conflicting

The length of the leaves probably has more to do with growing conditions than anything else. Even though such descriptions are made of different species, those are generally not the main criteria used to make a determination. Floral parts are of much more taxonomic significance. T. lindenii tends to have a taller, narrower inflorescence than T. cyanea.

Below is a chart Derek Butcher made for the different Tillandsias in this particular complex, i.e. anceps, cyanea, lindenii, pretiosa and umbellata. It's not a key, exactly, but it does point out some of the differences. Unfortunately the photo of T. pretiosa seems to be missing, but it's not likely you would find that for sale in any but a collector-oriented specialty nursery anyway. Actually, you could say the same for the other species listed here. T. lindenii is occasionally grown commercially, but the overwhelming majority of what you will find for sale at most commercial outlets will be some form of T. cyanea. It's a VERY popular plant.

Here is a link that might be useful: Uncle Derek Says: Tillandsias with Paddle-shaped inflorescences

Derek's article says it all. My experience is that lindenii's flowers are bigger, the whole plant being stockier. It is also a much less frequently encountered plant in the trade than cyanea. Lindenii in hand is a bigger plant, you've probably got cyanea.
Lisa, here's T. pretiosa.

{{gwi:461874}}

I am SO excited. Got up this morning to a BLOOMING cyanea! I have one deep purple flower!

What I had read said that this plant blooms in winter so Im not sure why it did bloom already. I repotted in orchid mix media.

Im hoping it sends a pup up before the plant dies tho.

Most commercially grown T. cyanea are chemically treated to force them into bloom for sale. If you bought yours with the inflorescence (i.e. the paddle part) already formed, then the blue flowers will follow, regardless of what time of year it is. As a bonus, they usually have a carnation-like scent too. I'm sure you will get pups once the flower starts to fade.