Neoregelia Porphyry Pearl

''Neoregelia'' is a genus of epiphytic flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, native to South American rainforests.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The genus name is for Eduard August von Regel, Director of St. Petersburg Botanic Gardens in Russia (1875–1892).

Description

Neoregelias are epiphytic plants, meaning they grow attached to the branches of forest trees; they do not naturally grow in the Earth, though they can be cultivated on the ground in controlled conditions, such as a garden, provided they are kept in a very airy growing medium such as pine bark that allows the root system to breathe. Their roots serve primarily as hold-fasts to grip their canopy perches and are adapted poorly to absorb nutriment, which is instead obtained through leaf litter, animal droppings and rainfall that collects in the prominent central cup exhibited by most species in the genus. They have mostly broad, relatively flat leaves often marked brightly with red, purple or yellow pigments which serve to protect the green photosynthetic tissues from sunburn and through selective breeding and hybridization thousands of cultivars in almost all color combinations, many also striped with white, have been produced.

The inflorescences of these plants form in the shallow central depression - the "cup" - of the plant, which often fills partway with water, through which the flowers bloom. Neoregelias, like most bromeliads, bloom only once in their lifetime and then begin to die, but normally not before producing several pups - small clones of the parent plant - around the central flowering rosette on stolons. These offshoots eventually replace the mother plant and form a cluster around it - although in cultivation, the offshoots can be severed and replanted when about two-thirds the size of the adult plant. The leaves immediately surrounding the inflorescence are very often brightly colored, even in species otherwise not brightly marked - an adaptation to attract pollinating insects.

Cultivation

''Neoregelia'' bromeliads and their hybrids, due to their varied forms and beautiful colors, are commonly cultivated as houseplants, or in warm climates as landscape plants. They are particularly suitable for vivarium culture. Their needs are simple, mainly consisting of bright light (most forms will revert to green if lighting is sub-optimal) and an airy growing medium - some species do not do well in soil and will be prone to rot due to their nature as epiphytes.

In temperate regions where temperatures fall below , they must be grown under glass or as houseplants. There are over 5000 registered cultivars.

Symbiosis

Neoregelias are utilized by many species of poison dart frog to reproduce. The frogs raise their tadpoles in the security of the water-filled cup in the bromeliads' rosettes, allowing them to stay in the relative safety of the treetops and not have to venture to a pool on the ground where predators are likely much more numerous. Waste products from the frogs and their offspring, once deposited into the cup, are utilized by the plant for nourishment.https://www.aqua.org/blog/2013/July/the-life-cycle-of-poison-dart-frogs-explained

Subgenera

, the Encyclopaedia of Bromeliads recognized three subgenera:
* ''N.'' subg. ''Longipetalopsis'' Leme
* ''N.'' subg. ''Neoregelia''
* ''N.'' subg. ''Protoregelia'' W.Till & Leme

A former subgenus, ''N.'' subg. ''Hylaeaicum'', was elevated to the genus ''Hylaeaicum'' in 2021.

Species

, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:

*''Neoregelia abendrothae'' L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia altocaririensis'' Leme & L.Kollmann
*''Neoregelia alvimii'' Roeth
*''Neoregelia amandae'' W.Weber
*''Neoregelia ampullacea'' (É.Morren) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia angustibracteolata'' E.Pereira & Leme
*''Neoregelia angustifolia'' E.Pereira
*''Neoregelia atroviridifolia'' W.Weber & Roeth
*''Neoregelia azevedoi'' Leme
*''Neoregelia bahiana'' (Ule) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia binotii'' (É.Morren) L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia bragarum'' (E.Pereira & L.B.Sm.) Leme
*'' Neoregelia brevifolia'' L.B.Sm. & Reitz
*''Neoregelia brigadeirensis'' C.C.Paula & Leme
*''Neoregelia brownii'' Leme
*'' Neoregelia burlemarxii'' Read (also spelt ''Neoregelia burle-marxii'')
*'' Neoregelia camorimiana'' E.Pereira & I.A.Penna
*''Neoregelia capixaba'' E.Pereira & Leme
*'' Neoregelia carcharodon'' (Jacob-Makoy ex Wittm.) L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia carinata'' Leme
*'' Neoregelia carolinae'' (Beer) L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia cathcartii'' C.F.Reed & Read
*'' Neoregelia chlorosticta'' (É.Morren) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia coimbrae'' E.Pereira & Leme
*''Neoregelia compacta'' (Mez) L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia concentrica'' (Vell.) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia coriacea'' (Antoine) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia correia-araujoi'' E.Pereira & I.A.Penna
*''Neoregelia crispata'' Leme
*''Neoregelia cruenta'' (Graham) L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia cyanea'' (Beer) L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia dactyloflammans'' Leme & L.Kollmann
*'' Neoregelia dayvidiana'' Leme & A.P.Fontana
*''Neoregelia desenganensis'' Leme
*''Neoregelia diversifolia'' E.Pereira
*'' Neoregelia doeringiana'' L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia dungsiana'' E.Pereira
*''Neoregelia eltoniana'' W.Weber
*'' Neoregelia farinosa'' (Ule) L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia fluminensis'' L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia fosteriana'' L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia gavionensis'' Martinelli & Leme
*'' Neoregelia gigas'' Leme & L.Kollmann
*'' Neoregelia guttata'' Leme
*'' Neoregelia hoehneana'' L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia ibitipocensis'' (Leme) Leme
*'' Neoregelia ilhana'' Leme
*''Neoregelia indecora'' (Mez) L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia inexspectata'' Leme
*''Neoregelia insulana'' Leme
*''Neoregelia johannis'' (Carrière) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia johnsoniae'' H.Luther
*'' Neoregelia kautskyi'' E.Pereira
*''Neoregelia kerryi'' Leme (also spelt ''Neoregelia kerryae'')
*''Neoregelia kuhlmannii'' L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia lactea'' H.Luther & Leme
*'' Neoregelia laevis'' (Mez) L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia leprosa'' L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia leucophoea'' (Baker) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia lilliputiana'' E.Pereira
*'' Neoregelia lillyae'' W.Weber
*'' Neoregelia longipedicellata'' Leme
*''Neoregelia longisepala'' E.Pereira & I.A.Penna
*'' Neoregelia lymaniana'' R.Braga & Sucre
*''Neoregelia macahensis'' (Ule) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia macrosepala'' L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia maculata'' L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia magdalenae'' L.B.Sm. & Reitz
*''Neoregelia marmorata'' (Baker) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia martinellii'' W.Weber
*''Neoregelia mcwilliamsii'' L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia melanodonta'' L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia menescalii'' Leme
*'' Neoregelia mucugensis'' Leme
*''Neoregelia nevaresii'' Leme & H.Luther
*''Neoregelia nivea'' Leme
*''Neoregelia odorata'' Leme
*''Neoregelia olens'' (Hook.f.) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia oligantha'' L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia paratiensis'' Leme
*''Neoregelia pascoaliana'' L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia pauciflora'' L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia paulistana'' E.Pereira
*''Neoregelia pernambucana'' Leme & J.A.Siqueira
*''Neoregelia petropolitana'' Leme
*''Neoregelia pineliana'' (Lem.) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia pontualii'' Leme
*''Neoregelia princeps'' (Baker) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia punctatissima'' (Ruschi) Ruschi
*''Neoregelia retrorsa'' Leme & L.Kollmann
*''Neoregelia richteri'' W.Weber
*'' Neoregelia roethii'' W.Weber
*'' Neoregelia rothinessa'' Leme, H.Luther & W.Till
*''Neoregelia rubrifolia'' Ruschi
*''Neoregelia rubrovittata'' Leme
*'' Neoregelia ruschii'' Leme & B.R.Silva
*''Neoregelia sanguinea'' Leme
*'' Neoregelia sapiatibensis'' E.Pereira & I.A.Penna
*'' Neoregelia sarmentosa'' (Regel) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia schubertii'' Roeth
*''Neoregelia seideliana'' L.B.Sm. & Reitz
*'' Neoregelia silvimontana'' Leme & J.A.Siqueira
*''Neoregelia simulans'' L.B.Sm.
*'' Neoregelia smithii'' W.Weber
*''Neoregelia spectabilis'' (Antoine) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia spiralipetala'' (Leme) Wand. & S.E.Martins
*'' Neoregelia tenebrosa'' Leme
*''Neoregelia tigrina'' (Ruschi) Ruschi
*''Neoregelia tristis'' (Beer) L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia uleana'' L.B.Sm.
*''Neoregelia viridolineata'' Leme
*'' Neoregelia viridovinosa'' Leme & L.Kollmann
*''Neoregelia watersiana'' Leme
*'' Neoregelia wilsoniana'' M.B.Foster
*'' Neoregelia zaslawskyi'' E.Pereira & Leme
*''Neoregelia zonata'' L.B.Sm.

Former species

Species transferred to ''Hylaeaicum'' include:
*''Neoregelia eleutheropetala'' → ''Hylaeaicum eleutheropetalum'' (Ule) Leme & Forzza
*''Neoregelia leviana'' → ''Hylaeaicum levianum'' (L.B.Sm.) Leme & Forzza
*''Neoregelia margaretae'' → ''Hylaeaicum margaretae'' (L.B.Sm.) Leme & Forzza
*''Neoregelia mooreana'' → ''Hylaeaicum mooreanum'' (L.B.Sm.) Leme, Zizka & Aguirre-Santoro
*''Neoregelia myrmecophila'' → ''Hylaeaicum myrmecophilum'' (Ule) Leme & Forzza
*''Neoregelia pendula'' → ''Hylaeaicum pendulum'' (L.B.Sm.) Leme, Zizka & Aguirre-Santoro
*''Neoregelia rosea'' → ''Hylaeaicum roseum'' (L.B.Sm.) Leme, Zizka & Aguirre-Santoro
*''Neoregelia stolonifera'' → ''Hylaeaicum stoloniferum'' (L.B.Sm.) Leme, Zizka & Aguirre-Santoro

Gallery

Image:Neoregelia 'Perfection' Plant 3008px.jpg, ''Neoregelia'' 'Perfection' plant
Image:Neoregelia 'Perfection' Closeup 3008px.jpg, ''Neoregelia'' 'Perfection' closeup
Image:Bromeliaceae-Neoregelia-US_Botanic_Garden.JPG, Photo of a ''Neoregelia'' at the United States Botanic Garden.
Image:Neoregelia 'Yellow Devil' 20090623.jpg, ''Neoregelia'' 'Yellow Devil' flower emerging from submerged inflorescence.

References

External links

BSI Genera Gallery
photos

{{Taxonbar, from=Q139091

Bromeliaceae genera
Flora of South America