''Aechmea nudicaulis'' 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, ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Aechmea ''Aechmea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae (subfamily Bromelioideae). The name comes from the Greek ''aichme'', meaning "spear". Suggested pronunciations include and . ''Aechmea'' comprises eight subgenera and around ...

'', which is often used as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

. This species is native to

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. ...

, 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 Greater A ...

, central and 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 ...

, and northern and central

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 ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The following varieties are recognized : # ''Aechmea nudicaulis'' var. ''aequalis'' L.B.Sm. & Reitz, 1963 - Espírito Santo # ''Aechmea nudicaulis'' var. ''cuspidata'' Baker, 1879 - Brazil, Guyana, Venezuela, Ecuador # ''Aechmea nudicaulis'' var. ''nordestina'' J.A. Siqueira & Leme, 2006 - northeastern Brazil # ''Aechmea nudicaulis'' var. ''nudicaulis'' - most of species range A number of

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s derived from this species are commercially available. These are either selected forms, or hybrids arising from crosses with other species, including: *''Aechmea'' 'Parati' *''Aechmea'' 'Rakete'

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2825498 nudicaulis Flora of South America Flora of Central America Flora of the Caribbean Flora of Mexico Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora without expected TNC conservation status