''Aechmea bromeliifolia'' is a

bromeliad 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, ...

native to southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

as far south as northern

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 ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
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Description

''Aechmea bromeliifolia'' can be found growing on the ground or as an

epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

both in hot jungles and in arid regions at an altitude of up to 2,500 feet. It grows bright green leaves that have prominent spines and a bottle-shaped rosette. The branched inflorescence bears red bracts with greenish-yellow petals; the flowers are followed by black berries that are considered edible. The red form of this plant is sometimes sold as ''Aechmea Schiedeana''. File:Aechmea Bromeliifolia 01.jpg, Aechmea Bromeliifolia File:Aechmea Bromeliifolia 02.jpg, Aechmea Bromeliifolia

Cultivars

* ''Aechmea'' 'Crossbands'BSI Cultivar Registry
Retrieved 11 October 2009

References

External links

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''Aechmea bromeliifolia''
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* bromeliifolia Flora of South America Flora of Central America Flora of Mexico Flora of Trinidad and Tobago Plants described in 1806 Taxa named by Edward Rudge Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Aechmea-stub