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

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

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

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') 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-bearin ...

of the family

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

, subfamily

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

, and its

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, 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 spe ...

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

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s with a deeply cleft

calyx CALYX, Inc. is a non-profit publisher of art and literature by women founded in 1976 based in Corvallis, Oregon. CALYX publishes both '' CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women'' twice a year and CALYX Books, which publishes one to three ...

. The genus is named after the Swedish medical doctor and botanist (1639-1705).

Species

Cultivation and uses

The resistant

fiber Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) 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 inco ...

obtained from ''B. serra'' and ''B. hieronymi'', both known as

chaguar Chaguar is the common name of several related species of South American plants of the family Bromeliaceae, among them '' Bromelia serra'', '' Bromelia hieronymi'', '' Deinacanthon urbanianum'' and '' Pseudananas sagenarius'', which are non-woody f ...

, is an essential component of the economy of the

Wichí The Wichí are a group indigenous people of South America. They are a large group of tribes, inhabiting the headwaters of the Bermejo River and the Pilcomayo River, in Argentina and Bolivia. Notes on designation This ethnic group was referred ...

tribe in the semi-arid

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or simply Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland tropical dry broadleaf forest natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion o ...

region of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. 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