''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> It is the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal ...

of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily

Bromelioideae Bromelioideae is a subfamily of the bromeliads (Bromeliaceae). This subfamily is the most diverse, represented by the greatest number of genera with about 40. Most of the plants in this group are epiphytes, though some have evolved in, or will ada ...

, and its

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

is '' B. karatas''. ''Bromelia'' species are characterized by

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s with a deeply cleft calyx. The genus is named after the Swedish medical doctor and botanist (1639-1705).

Species

* '' Bromelia agavifolia'' Brongniart ex Houllet - French Guiana * ''

Bromelia alsodes ''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is ''Bromelia karatas, B. karatas''. ''Bromelia' ...

'' 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 ''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is '' B. karatas''. ''Bromelia'' species are ch ...

'' 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 ''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is '' B. karatas''. ''Bromelia'' species are ch ...

'' P.J.Braun, Esteves & Scharf - Bahia * ''

Bromelia chrysantha ''Bromelia chrysantha'' is a plant species in the genus ''Bromelia''. This species is native to Venezuela, Colombia, and Trinidad & Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost islan ...

'' Jacquin - Venezuela, Colombia, Trinidad & Tobago * ''

Bromelia dilatata ''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is '' B. karatas''. ''Bromelia'' species are ch ...

'' Esteves, Hofacker & Scharf - Mato Grosso * ''

Bromelia eitenorum ''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is '' B. karatas''. ''Bromelia'' species are ch ...

'' L.B. Smith - Maranhão * ''

Bromelia epiphytica ''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is '' B. karatas''. ''Bromelia'' species are ch ...

'' L.B. Smith - Amazonas of Brazil * ''

Bromelia estevesii ''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is '' B. karatas''. ''Bromelia'' species are ch ...

'' Leme - Piauí * ''

Bromelia exigua ''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is '' B. karatas''. ''Bromelia'' species are ch ...

'' Mez - Goiás * ''

Bromelia flemingii ''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is '' B. karatas''. ''Bromelia'' species are ch ...

'' I. Ramírez & Carnevali - Aragua of Veenzuela * ''

Bromelia fosteriana ''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is '' B. karatas''. ''Bromelia'' species are ch ...

'' 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 ''Bromelia karatas'' is a plant species in the genus ''Bromelia''. This species is native to West Indies and to Latin America from San Luis Potosí + Sinaloa south to Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of B ...

'' 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 ''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is '' B. karatas''. ''Bromelia'' species are ch ...

'' 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 ''Bromelia pinguin'' is a plant species in the genus '' Bromelia''. This species is native to Central America, Mexico, the West Indies and northern South America. It is also reportedly naturalized in Florida. It is very common in Jamaica J ...

'' 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 Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorpora ...

obtained from ''B. serra'' and ''B. hieronymi'', both known as chaguar, is an essential component of the economy of the

Wichí The Wichí are an indigenous people of South America. They are a large group of tribes ranging about the headwaters of the Bermejo River and the Pilcomayo River, in Argentina and Bolivia. Notes on designation This ethnic group was named by the En ...

tribe in the semi-arid

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato ...

region of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. An 1841 publication described the fiber of silk grass ('' Bromelia karata'') as "equal in durability to our best bowstrings."

References

External links

List of Species at FCBS

BSI Genera Gallery
photos Bromeliaceae genera {{Bromelioideae-stub