Bromeliad (Bromeliaceae)
Thursday, April 12th, 2007
Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a diverse family of plants endemic to Central and South America. They are a durable, colorful and exotic plant that grows well indoors or in a pot. The pineapple is a member of the bromeliad family, but so are 3000 other species ranging from tiny air-plants to terrestrial plants reaching 10m in height.
Around half of the bromeliads are epiphytes, meaning they attach themselves to the truck or branches of trees and shrubs. Epiphytes are not parasites, as they gather the moisture and nutrients they need from the air and what they catch falling from above. If you don’t have a tree handy, they can be mounted to a piece of (untreated) wood or cork bark.
