Bromeliads include epiphytes, such as Spanish moss, and ground plants, such as the Pineapple. Many bromeliads have a "tank" formed by their tightly-overlapping leaves, in which they store water. However, the family is diverse enough to include the tank bromeliads, grey-leaved epiphytic Tillandsia species which gather water only from leaf structures called trichomes, and even a large number of desert-dwelling succulents.
The largest bromeliad is Puya raimondii, which reaches 3 m tall in vegetative growth with a flower spike 9-10 m tall, and the smallest is probably Spanish moss, Tillandsia usneoides.
 Garden bromeliad with flower spike |
 Bromeliads around palm tree |
Genera
External links
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