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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

ImageScientific nameDistribution
Bromelia agavifolia Brongniart ex HoulletFrench Guiana
BromeliaBromelia alsodes H. St. Johnfrom Sinaloa south to Nicaragua
Bromelia alta L.B. SmithGuyana and Suriname
BromeliaBromelia antiacantha BertoloniBrazil, Uruguay
Bromelia araujoi P.J.Braun, Esteves & ScharfMaranhão
Bromelia arenaria UleBrazil (Bahia)
Bromelia arubaiensis P.L. Ibisch & R. VásquezBolivia
Bromelia auriculata L.B. SmithCeará
BromeliaBromelia balansae Mez Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay
Bromelia binotii E. Morren ex MezBrazil (Espírito Santo)
Bromelia braunii Leme & E. EstevesTocantins
Bromelia charlesii P.J.Braun, Esteves & ScharfBrazil (Bahia)
Bromelia chrysantha JacquinVenezuela, Colombia, Trinidad & Tobago
Bromelia dilatata Esteves, Hofacker & ScharfMato Grosso
Bromelia eitenorum L.B. SmithMaranhão
Bromelia epiphytica L.B. SmithBrazil (Amazonas)
Bromelia estevesii LemeBrazil (Piauí)
Bromelia exigua MezBrazil (Goiás)
Bromelia flemingii I. Ramírez & CarnevaliAragua of Venezuela
Bromelia fosteriana L.B. SmithSuriname
Bromelia fragilis L.B. SmithColombia
Bromelia glaziovii MezBrazil (Minas Gerais and Goiás)
Bromelia goeldiana L.B. SmithVenezuela and Brazil
Bromelia goyazensis MezBrazil (Goiás)
Bromelia grandiflora MezBrazil
Bromelia granvillei L.B. Smith & GoudaFrench Guiana
Bromelia gurkeniana E. Pereira & MoutinhoBrazil
Bromelia hemisphaerica Lam.from Guanajuato south to Panama
BromeliaBromelia hieronymi MezBolivia, Paraguay, Argentina
Bromelia horstii RauhBrazil (Mato Grosso)
BromeliaBromelia humilis JacquinVenezuela, Trinidad & Tobago, Netherlands Antilles
Bromelia ignaciana R. Vásquez & P.L. IbischBolivia
BromeliaBromelia interior L.B. SmithBrazil
Bromelia irwinii L.B. SmithGoiás
BromeliaBromelia karatas LinnaeusWest Indies; Latin America from San Luis Potosí + Sinaloa south to Brazil
BromeliaBromelia laciniosa Martius ex Schultes f.Brazil and Argentina
Bromelia lagopus MezBrazil
Bromelia legrellae (E. Morren) MezBrazil (Pará)
Bromelia lindevaldae Leme & E. EstevesBrazil (Bahia)
Bromelia macedoi L.B. SmithBrazil (Goiás)
Bromelia michaelii Esteves, Hofacker & ScharfBrazil (Goiás)
Bromelia minima Leme & E. EstevesBrazil (Goiás)
Bromelia morreniana (Regel) Meznorthern Brazil
Bromelia nidus-puellae (André) André ex MezColombia
Bromelia oliveirae L.B. SmithBrazil (Pará)
Bromelia palmeri Mezfrom Colima south to Oaxaca
BromeliaBromelia pinguin LinnaeusWest Indies; from Mexico to Ecuador and Suriname; naturalized in Florida
Bromelia poeppigii MezPeru
Bromelia redoutei (Baker) L.B. SmithGuatemala.
Bromelia regnellii MezBrazil
Bromelia reversacantha MezBrazil (Goiás)
Bromelia rondoniana L.B. SmithRondônia
Bromelia scarlatina (hortus ex Hérincq) E. MorrenEcuador and Brazil
BromeliaBromelia serra GrisebachBrazil, French Guiana, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina
Bromelia superba MezJamaica
BromeliaBromelia sylvicola S. MooreBrazil (Mato Grosso)
Bromelia tarapotina UlePeru
Bromelia trianae MezColombia
Bromelia tubulosa L.B. SmithVenezuela and Brazil
BromeliaBromelia unaensis Leme & ScharfBrazil (Bahia)
Bromelia urbaniana (Mez) L.B.Sm.Paraguay and Argentina
Bromelia villosa MezBolivia 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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