Robby, what you are referring to is the Air Plants or
Tillandsias from the
Bromeliaceae family. They are found in your home land thru Central and South America. There are heck lots of species and you can check out tillandsiainternational.com for the stuff available for sale.
It does not just live off air!
You should water them and foliar feed them. They are real cool to keep. You can just tie them to about almost anything and after a while, they will flower and pup. Where Lorax comes from, there are tons of them.