Bromelia

Bromelia
Bromelia karatas
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Bromeliaceae
Subfamily: Bromelioideae
Genus: Bromelia
L.
Type species
Bromelia karatas
Synonyms[1]
  • Karatas Mill.
  • Pinguin Adans.
  • Psedomelia Neck.
  • Agallostachys Beer
  • Distiacanthus Linden
  • Deinacanthon Mez

Bromelia is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies.[1] It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is B. karatas. Bromelia species are characterized by flowers with a deeply cleft calyx. The genus is named after the Swedish medical doctor and botanist Olof Bromelius [sv] (1639-1705).

Species

Image Scientific name Distribution
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 Brazil (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 Brazil (Espírito Santo)
Bromelia braunii Leme & E. Esteves Tocantins
Bromelia charlesii P.J.Braun, Esteves & Scharf Brazil (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 Brazil (Amazonas)
Bromelia estevesii Leme Brazil (Piauí)
Bromelia exigua Mez Brazil (Goiás)
Bromelia flemingii I. Ramírez & Carnevali Aragua of Venezuela
Bromelia fosteriana L.B. Smith Suriname
Bromelia fragilis L.B. Smith Colombia
Bromelia glaziovii Mez Brazil (Minas Gerais and Goiás)
Bromelia goeldiana L.B. Smith Venezuela and Brazil
Bromelia goyazensis Mez Brazil (Goiás)
Bromelia grandiflora Mez Brazil
Bromelia granvillei L.B. Smith & Gouda French Guiana
Bromelia gurkeniana E. Pereira & Moutinho Brazil
Bromelia hemisphaerica Lam. from Guanajuato south to Panama
Bromelia hieronymi Mez Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina
Bromelia horstii Rauh Brazil (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 and Argentina
Bromelia lagopus Mez Brazil
Bromelia legrellae (E. Morren) Mez Brazil (Pará)
Bromelia lindevaldae Leme & E. Esteves Brazil (Bahia)
Bromelia macedoi L.B. Smith Brazil (Goiás)
Bromelia michaelii Esteves, Hofacker & Scharf Brazil (Goiás)
Bromelia minima Leme & E. Esteves Brazil (Goiás)
Bromelia morreniana (Regel) Mez northern Brazil
Bromelia nidus-puellae (André) André ex Mez Colombia
Bromelia oliveirae L.B. Smith Brazil (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 Guatemala.
Bromelia regnellii Mez Brazil
Bromelia reversacantha Mez Brazil (Goiás)
Bromelia rondoniana L.B. Smith Rondônia
Bromelia scarlatina (hortus ex Hérincq) E. Morren Ecuador and Brazil
Bromelia serra Grisebach Brazil, French Guiana, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina
Bromelia superba Mez Jamaica
Bromelia sylvicola S. Moore Brazil (Mato Grosso)
Bromelia tarapotina Ule Peru
Bromelia trianae Mez Colombia
Bromelia tubulosa L.B. Smith Venezuela and Brazil
Bromelia unaensis Leme & Scharf Brazil (Bahia)
Bromelia urbaniana (Mez) L.B.Sm. Paraguay and Argentina
Bromelia villosa Mez Bolivia and 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

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


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