Fans captivated by the exotic plants in “Avatar” are looking to a Torrance nursery to bring a bit of movie magic to their homes.

Rainforest Flora Inc., the go-to place in Southern California for tillandsias, is taking advantage of the movie’s phenomenal success to promote the flowering plants that inspired the flora on Pandora.

The nursery’s connection to “Avatar” began in 2008 when founder and co-owner Paul Isley, an adventure buff, asked director James Cameron to write a forward for his book, “Deep Voyages to the Titanic and Beyond.”

While Cameron bought tillandsias from New Zealand for the film, he remembered Isley’s connection to the plant and sent actress Sigourney Weaver a birthday gift from the nursery to remind her of the Pandora set.

Some call tillandsias “air plants” because they do not require soil to grow and can be mounted on boards. Rainforest Flora sells nearly 10,000 tillandsias and similar plants a week to wholesale clients such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart.

“They’ve been in business forever,” said Frank McDonough, plant expert for the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Garden. “I’d say Rainforest Flora is pretty much it in Southern California. I can’t think of any other stores that specialize in tillandsias like they do.”

Isley founded the nursery with co-owner Jerry Robinson in 1976. They originally imported the plant, native to Central and South America, from Guatemala. In the early 1980s, they began growing their own plants in two indoor facilities in North San Diego County and are now self-sufficient in production.

“From seed it takes a minimum of four years, up to 25 years, to grow them. People are amazed when they walk into our greenhouse and see plants that have been growing for (decades),” said Robinson, whose tillandsias start at $5 to $10 per plant with a mounting and go up to $50 for an arrangement. “Most people see the intrinsic value because they are unusual and they’re hearty.”