We performed a phylogenetic analysis using maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference of three plastid DNA markers and the external transcribed spacer (ETS) of nuclear ribosomal DNAto assess the species composition of the Tillandsia utriculata complex and their phylogenetic relationships, and to reconstruct patterns of character evolution and biogeography. The results showed that species of the T. utriculata complex are nested in a clade composed mainly of Mexican and Central American species of T. subgenus Tillandsia (Mexican Clade), and are organized in two lineages: the T. utriculata clade and the T. limbata clade. The ancestor of the core Mexican Clade was probably a T. utriculata-like epiphyte (Group II-type remote flowers and flexuous rachises). The T. utriculata clade is defined morphologically by the presence of acute petals. In this clade, there are two lineages: one of high-elevation, saxicolous, grey-leaved plants from the Mexican Plateau; and one which is more widespread and found from the Gulf of Mexico to Venezuela. The T. limbata clade probably arose in western Mesoamerica and is defined by rounded petals. These species are found mainly in tropical dry forests, but one species colonized wet environments of eastern Mesoamerica. Finally, analyses based on the ETS region allowed us to distinguish between T. utriculata and T. pringlei.