Bromelia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Poales

Familia: Bromeliaceae
Subfamilia: Bromelioideae
Genus: Bromelia
Species: B. agavifolia – B. alsodes – B. alta – B. antiacantha – B. araujoi – B. arenaria – B. arubaiensis – B. auriculata – B. balansae – B. binotii – B. braunii – B. charlesii – B. chrysantha – B. dilatata – B. eitenorum – B. epiphytica – B. estevesii – B. exigua – B. flemingii – B. fosteriana – B. fragilis – B. glaziovii – B. goeldiana – B. goyazensis – B. grandiflora – B. granvillei – B. gurkeniana – B. hemisphaerica – B. hieronymi – B. horstii – B. humilis – B. ignaciana – B. interior – B. irwinii – B. karatas – B. laciniosa – B. lagopus – B. legrellae – B. lindevaldae – B. macedoi – B. michaelii – B. minima – B. morreniana – B. nidus-puellae – B. oliveirae – B. palmeri – B. pinguin – B. poeppigii – B. redoutei – B. regnellii – B. reversacantha – B. rondoniana – B. scarlatina – B. serra – B. superba – B. sylvicola – B. tarapotina – B. trianae – B. tubulosa – B. unaensis – B. urbaniana – B. villosa
Name

Bromelia L., Sp. Pl. 1: 285 (1753)
Type species: Bromelia karatas L. Sp. Pl. 1: 285 (1753)

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Karatas Mill., Gard. Dict. Abr. ed. 4: s.p. (1754)
Pinguin Adans., Fam. Pl. 2: 67 (1763)
Psedomelia Neck., Elem. Bot. 3: 150 (1790), opus utique oppr.
Agallostachys Beer, Fam. Bromel.: 35 (1856)
Distiacanthus Linden, Cat. Gén. 23: 4 (1869)
Deinacanthon Mez in A.L.P.P.de Candolle & A.C.P.de Candolle, Monogr. Phan. 9: 12 (1896)

Homonyms

Bromelia Adans. Familles des Plantes 2: 67, 527. (1763)

References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 285.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2015. Bromelia in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2015 July 2. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2015. Bromelia. Published online. Accessed: July 2 2015.
Tropicos.org 2015. Bromelia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2015 July 2.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Bromelia in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names
suomi: Bromeliat

Bromelia is the type genus of the plant family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae. Bromelia species are widespread across much of Latin America and the West Indies,[1] and are characterized by flowers with a deeply cleft calyx. The genus is named after the Swedish medical doctor and botanist Olof Bromelius (1639-1705).

The type species is B. karatas.

Species

• Bromelia agavifolia Brongniart ex Houllet - French Guiana
• Bromelia alsodes H. St. John - from Sinaloa south to Nicaragua
• Bromelia alta L.B. Smith - Guyana and Suriname
• Bromelia antiacantha Bertoloni - Brazil, Uruguay
• Bromelia araujoi P.J.Braun, Esteves & Scharf - Maranhão
• Bromelia arenaria Ule - Bahia
• Bromelia arubaiensis P.L. Ibisch & R. Vásquez - Bolivia
• Bromelia auriculata L.B. Smith - Ceará
• Bromelia balansae Mez - Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay
• Bromelia binotii E. Morren ex Mez - Espírito Santo
• Bromelia braunii Leme & E. Esteves - Tocantins
• Bromelia charlesii P.J.Braun, Esteves & Scharf - Bahia
• Bromelia chrysantha Jacquin - Venezuela, Colombia, Trinidad & Tobago
• Bromelia dilatata Esteves, Hofacker & Scharf - Mato Grosso
• Bromelia eitenorum L.B. Smith - Maranhão
• Bromelia epiphytica L.B. Smith - Amazonas of Brazil
• Bromelia estevesii Leme - Piauí
• Bromelia exigua Mez - Goiás
• Bromelia flemingii I. Ramírez & Carnevali - Aragua of Venezuela
• Bromelia fosteriana L.B. Smith - Suriname
• Bromelia fragilis L.B. Smith - Colombia
• Bromelia glaziovii Mez - Minas Gerais and Goiás
• Bromelia goeldiana L.B. Smith - Venezuela and Brazil
• Bromelia goyazensis Mez - Goiás
• Bromelia grandiflora Mez - Brazil
• Bromelia granvillei L.B. Smith & Gouda - French Guiana
• Bromelia gurkeniana E. Pereira & Moutinho
  • var. funchiana E. Pereira & Leme -Bahia
  • var. gurkeniana - Pará
• Bromelia hemisphaerica Lam. - from Guanajuato south to Panama
• Bromelia hieronymi Mez - Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina
• Bromelia horstii Rauh - Mato Grosso
• Bromelia humilis Jacquin - Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago, Netherlands Antilles
• Bromelia ignaciana R. Vásquez & P.L. Ibisch - Bolivia
• Bromelia interior L.B. Smith - Brazil
• Bromelia irwinii L.B. Smith - Goiás
• Bromelia karatas Linnaeus - West Indies; Latin America from San Luis Potosí + Sinaloa south to Brazil
• Bromelia laciniosa Martius ex Schultes f. - Brazil + Argentina
• Bromelia lagopus Mez - Brazil
• Bromelia legrellae (E. Morren) Mez - Pará
• Bromelia lindevaldae Leme & E. Esteves - Bahia
• Bromelia macedoi L.B. Smith - Goiás
• Bromelia michaelii Esteves, Hofacker & Scharf - Goiás
• Bromelia minima Leme & E. Esteves - Goiás
• Bromelia morreniana (Regel) Mez - northern Brazil
• Bromelia nidus-puellae (André) André ex Mez - Colombia
• Bromelia oliveirae L.B. Smith - Pará
• Bromelia palmeri Mez - from Colima south to Oaxaca
• Bromelia pinguin Linnaeus - West Indies; from Mexico to Ecuador and Suriname; naturalized in Florida
• Bromelia poeppigii Mez - Peru
• Bromelia redoutei (Baker) L.B. Smith - described 1889; origin unknown; probably extinct
• Bromelia regnellii Mez - Brazil
• Bromelia reversacantha Mez - Goiás
• Bromelia rondoniana L.B. Smith - Rondônia
• Bromelia scarlatina (hortus ex Hérincq) E. Morren - Ecuador + Brazil
• Bromelia serra Grisebach - Brazil, French Guiana, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina
• Bromelia superba Mez - Jamaica
• Bromelia sylvicola S. Moore - Mato Grosso
• Bromelia tarapotina Ule - Peru
• Bromelia trianae Mez - Colombia
• Bromelia tubulosa L.B. Smith - Venezuela + Brazil
• Bromelia unaensis Leme & Scharf - Bahia
• Bromelia urbaniana (Mez) L.B.Sm. - Paraguay + Argentina
• Bromelia villosa Mez - Bolivia + Brazil

Cultivation and uses

The resistant fiber obtained from B. serra and B. hieronymi, both known as chaguar, is an essential component of the economy of the Wichí tribe in the semi-arid Gran Chaco region of Argentina. An 1841 publication described the fiber of silk grass (Bromelia karata) as "equal in durability to our best bowstrings."[2]
References

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk; Sir William Jardine; Andrew Crichton (1841). The Natural History of the Fishes of Guiana. W. H. Lizars. p. 102.