# Bromelia

Bromelia is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. 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

| Scientific name | Distribution |
| Bromelia agavifolia Brongniart ex Houllet | French Guiana |
| Bromelia alsodes H. St. John | from Sinaloa south to Nicaragua |
| Bromelia alta L.B. Smith | Guyana and Suriname |
| Bromelia antiacantha Bertoloni | Brazil, Uruguay |
| Bromelia araujoi P.J.Braun, Esteves & Scharf | Maranhão |
| Bromelia arenaria Ule | Brazil (Bahia) |
| Bromelia arubaiensis P.L. Ibisch & R. Vásquez | Bolivia |
| Bromelia auriculata L.B. Smith | Ceará |
| Bromelia balansae Mez | Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay |
| Bromelia binotii E. Morren ex Mez | Brazil (Espírito Santo) |
| Bromelia braunii Leme & E. Esteves | Tocantins |
| Bromelia charlesii P.J.Braun, Esteves & Scharf | Brazil (Bahia) |
| Bromelia chrysantha Jacquin | Venezuela, Colombia, Trinidad & Tobago |
| Bromelia dilatata Esteves, Hofacker & Scharf | Mato Grosso |
| Bromelia eitenorum L.B. Smith | Maranhão |
| Bromelia epiphytica L.B. Smith | Brazil (Amazonas) |
| Bromelia estevesii Leme | Brazil (Piauí) |
| Bromelia exigua Mez | Brazil (Goiás) |
| Bromelia flemingii I. Ramírez & Carnevali | Aragua of Venezuela |
| Bromelia fosteriana L.B. Smith | Suriname |
| Bromelia fragilis L.B. Smith | Colombia |
| Bromelia glaziovii Mez | Brazil (Minas Gerais and Goiás) |
| Bromelia goeldiana L.B. Smith | Venezuela and Brazil |
| Bromelia goyazensis Mez | Brazil (Goiás) |
| Bromelia grandiflora Mez | Brazil |
| Bromelia granvillei L.B. Smith & Gouda | French Guiana |
| Bromelia gurkeniana E. Pereira & Moutinho | Brazil |
| Bromelia hemisphaerica Lam. | from Guanajuato south to Panama |
| Bromelia hieronymi Mez | Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina |
| Bromelia horstii Rauh | Brazil (Mato Grosso) |
| Bromelia humilis Jacquin | Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago, Netherlands Antilles |
| Bromelia ignaciana R. Vásquez & P.L. Ibisch | Bolivia |
| Bromelia interior L.B. Smith | Brazil |
| Bromelia irwinii L.B. Smith | Goiás |
| Bromelia karatas Linnaeus | West Indies; Latin America from San Luis Potosí + Sinaloa south to Brazil |
| Bromelia laciniosa Martius ex Schultes f. | Brazil and Argentina |
| Bromelia lagopus Mez | Brazil |
| Bromelia legrellae (E. Morren) Mez | Brazil (Pará) |
| Bromelia lindevaldae Leme & E. Esteves | Brazil (Bahia) |
| Bromelia macedoi L.B. Smith | Brazil (Goiás) |
| Bromelia michaelii Esteves, Hofacker & Scharf | Brazil (Goiás) |
| Bromelia minima Leme & E. Esteves | Brazil (Goiás) |
| Bromelia morreniana (Regel) Mez | northern Brazil |
| Bromelia nidus-puellae (André) André ex Mez | Colombia |
| Bromelia oliveirae L.B. Smith | Brazil (Pará) |
| Bromelia palmeri Mez | from Colima south to Oaxaca |
| Bromelia pinguin Linnaeus | West Indies; from Mexico to Ecuador and Suriname; naturalized in Florida |
| Bromelia poeppigii Mez | Peru |
| Bromelia redoutei (Baker) L.B. Smith | Guatemala. |
| Bromelia regnellii Mez | Brazil |
| Bromelia reversacantha Mez | Brazil (Goiás) |
| Bromelia rondoniana L.B. Smith | Rondônia |
| Bromelia scarlatina (hortus ex Hérincq) E. Morren | Ecuador and Brazil |
| Bromelia serra Grisebach | Brazil, French Guiana, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina |
| Bromelia superba Mez | Jamaica |
| Bromelia sylvicola S. Moore | Brazil (Mato Grosso) |
| Bromelia tarapotina Ule | Peru |
| Bromelia trianae Mez | Colombia |
| Bromelia tubulosa L.B. Smith | Venezuela and Brazil |
| Bromelia unaensis Leme & Scharf | Brazil (Bahia) |
| Bromelia urbaniana (Mez) L.B.Sm. | Paraguay and Argentina |
| Bromelia villosa Mez | Bolivia 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."