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(Last Modified On 10/31/2012)
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(Last Modified On 10/31/2012)
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Family
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BROMELIACEAE
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Contributor
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LYMAN B. SMITH
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Description
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Herbs in all the Panamanian species, mostly epiphytic or saxicolous. Leaves spirally arranged, usually basal, simple, entire or spinose-serrate, at least in youth bearing peltate scales serving to collect and hold moisture. Inflorescence simple or compound, usually bearing brightly colored bracts. Flowers perfect or functionally dioecious. Perianth heterochlamydeous with 3 sepals and 3 petals, the segments of each series free or variously joined. Stamens 6, the filaments free or joined to the petals or to each other. Ovary superior to inferior, 3-celled. Fruit capsular or baccate. Seeds naked, winged or plumose. Embryo small, at the base of the mealy endosperm.
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Habit
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Herbs
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Distribution
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About 50 genera and 1,500 species, indigenous to tropical and subtropical America except for a single African species.
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Key
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a. Ovary wholly or partly superior; fruit capsular; seeds appendaged. b. Seeds with entire appendages; leaves of the Panamanian species spinose-serrate; ovary only in part superior; plants usually terres- trial ----- - 1. PITCAIRNIA bb. Seeds plumose; leaves always entire; ovary nearly or quite superior; plants chiefly epiphytic. c. Appendage of the seed basal, straight at maturity (for key to fruiting specimens of genera 2-5 see p. 79). d. Petals nearly or quite free. e. Petals naked; inflorescence of one or more distichous-flowered spikes or rarely simple and polystichous - -- 2. TILLANDSIA ee. Petals each bearing 2 scales on the inner surface. f. Inflorescence of one or more distichous-flowered spikes; floral bracts usually forming the conspicuous element of the inflorescence; branches usually elongate when present-_ 3. VRIESJA ff. Inflorescence of several polystichous-flowered spikes, though the flowers sometimes turning secund or the spikes reduced to single flowers (but the two series of bracts indicating a compound inflorescence); primary bracts the conspicuous element of the inflorescence; branches usually short - 4. THECOPHYLLUM dd. Petals joined or closely agglutinated for most of their length; inflorescence always of polystichous-flowered spikes - - 5. GUZMANIA cc. Appendage of the seed apical, folded over at maturity; sepals distinctly asymmetric in all Panamanian species; flowers poly- stichous - ------------------------- - 6. GATOPSIS aa. Ovary inferior; fruit baccate; seeds naked; leaves mostly serrate. b. Ovaries remaining distinct; inflorescence without a large foliaceous coma. c. Petals joined to the filament-tube but with free margins, fleshy, 3-4 cm. long; sepals with soft points; flowers pedicellate; in- florescence compound _ - - _---- 7. BROMELIA cc. Petals free, not fleshy; filaments not forming a tube. d. Petals up to 43 mm. long, spirally recurved at anthesis, linear; sepals unarmed, symmetric; inflorescence simple, pendulous-- 8. BILLBERGIA dd. Petals erect or divergent at anthesis; sepals mostly pungent or mucronate, usually asymmetric; petals usually small - 9. AECHMEA bb. Ovaries fusing into a syncarp; inflorescence bearing a large foliaceous coma _ - _ - _---- 10. ANANAS
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