Bromelioideae is a subfamily of the bromeliads (

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, ...

). This subfamily is the most diverse, represented by the greatest number of

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

with about 40. Most of the plants in this group are

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 ...

s, though some have evolved in, or will adapt to, terrestrial conditions. This subfamily features the most plant types which are commonly cultivated by people, including the

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

Description

The foliage in most bromelioids grows to form a rosette where water is caught and stored. Their leaves are usually spined and they produce berry-like fruits in their blooms. These plants contain an

inferior ovary In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the pistil which holds the ovule(s) and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the ...

Genera

, the Encyclopaedia of Bromeliads listed 39 genera, plus one hybrid genus (×''Hohenmea'' B.R.Silva & L.F.Sousa) and one genus with no species listed, that

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

treated as an artificial hybrid genus (×''Cryptbergia'' R.G.Wilson & C.L.Wilson). A further genus, ''

Hylaeaicum ''Hylaeaicum'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Bromeliaceae, native to tropical northern South America. The taxon was first described by Ernst Heinrich Georg Ule in 1935 as a subgenus of "''Aregelia''" (an illegitimate genus name). I ...

'', was separated from ''

Neoregelia ''Neoregelia'' is a genus of epiphytic flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, native to South American rainforests. The genus name is for Eduard August von Regel, Director of St. Petersburg Botanic Gardens in Rus ...

'' in 2021.

References

BSI - Bromeliad Info - Taxonomy

Bromeliads
* LUTHER, H. E. (2008
An Alphabetical List of Bromeliad Binomials, Eleventh EditionThe Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The c ...

, USA. Published b
The Bromeliad Society International
Commelinid subfamilies {{bromeliad-stub