 Both of these movements occurred approximately 15.4 million years ago.When it reached the Andes mountains, the speciation of Tillandsioideae occurred quite rapidly, largely due to the Andean uplift, which was also occurring rapidly from 14.2 to 8.7 million years ago.The uplift created a new mountainous environment for the epiphytic Tillandsioides to colonize, and greatly altered the region's geological and climatic conditions.