The World Flora Online

Herbs or rarely shrubs, epiphytic, lithophytic, or terrestrial. Leaves spirally arranged, usually rosulate, sessile, simple, veins parallel, base dilated, sheathing, margin often spinose serrate or sometimes entire. Inflorescence terminal or lateral, scapose or sessile, a panicle, raceme, spike, or head, sometimes reduced to solitary, pseudolateral flowers; bracts usually brightly colored and conspicuous. Flowers bisexual or sometimes functionally unisexual, 3-merous. Sepals and petals each 3, distinct, free or basally connate; petals often brightly colored, basal margin with a pair of scalelike appendages. Stamens 6, in 2 whorls of 3; filaments free, connate, or collectively or individually adnate to petals; anthers 2-celled, dehiscing by longitudinal slits. Gynoecium of 3 carpels united to form a compound, 3-loculed, superior or very often partly or wholly inferior ovary; ovules few to usually ± numerous in each locule; placentation axile. Style terminal and often 3-parted; stigmas papillose. Fruit a berry or less often a septicidal capsule, or seldom compound and fleshy. Seeds usually winged or plumose; endosperm mealy; embryo small to fairly large.

Seeds with abundant mealy endosperm and a small embryo, sometimes winged Mostly short-stemmed epiphytes or growing on rocks Ovules numerous in each loculus, the axile placentas sometimes divided Leaves usually in a dense cluster, long and strap-shaped, rigid and spinulose-toothed or rarely flaccid, often coloured towards the base Fruit fleshy and indehiscent or rarely opening unevenly, or rarely a septicidal or loculicidal capsule Flowers in a terminal head, spike, or panicle often with highly coloured bracts, actinomorphic, bisexual or rarely unisexual Ovary superior to inferior, 3-locular; style slender, elongated, stigmas 3 Stamens 6, mostly inserted at the base of the segments, free or partially adnate to them; anthers free or rarely connate in a ring, linear, usually versatile, 2-locular, opening by longitudinal slits Perianth hypogynous to epigynous, segments in two series, the outer calyx-like, imbricate, the inner corolla-like and free or variously connate, imbricate Mostly short-stemmed epiphytes or growing on rocks Ovules numerous in each loculus, the axile placentas sometimes divided Leaves usually in a dense cluster, long and strap-shaped, rigid and spinulose-toothed or rarely flaccid, often coloured towards the base Fruit fleshy and indehiscent or rarely opening unevenly, or rarely a septicidal or loculicidal capsule Flowers in a terminal head, spike, or panicle often with highly coloured bracts, actinomorphic, bisexual or rarely unisexual Ovary superior to inferior, 3-locular; style slender, elongated, stigmas 3 Stamens 6, mostly inserted at the base of the segments, free or partially adnate to them; anthers free or rarely connate in a ring, linear, usually versatile, 2-locular, opening by longitudinal slits Perianth hypogynous to epigynous, segments in two series, the outer calyx-like, imbricate, the inner corolla-like and free or variously connate, imbricate

Fls mostly perfect, regular or nearly so, hypogynous to often epigynous; sep and pet each 3, unlike, the sep green and herbaceous to frequently ± petaloid, distinct or connate below; pet distinct or shortly connate below, commonly provided along the basal margins with a pair of scale-like appendages that sometimes function as nectaries, and the ovary regularly with septal nectaries; stamens 3 + 3, often connate, or adnate to the tep; ovary trilocular, with a trifid style and axile placentation; fr a berry, or less often a usually septicidal capsule, or seldom multiple and fleshy; seeds often plumose or winged; embryo monocotyledonous, usually peripheral at the base of the copious, mealy endosperm; epiphytes and terrestrial xerophytes, often acaulescent, with narrow, parallel-veined, often firm and spiny-margined lvs, in most genera provided with stalked, peltate, water-absorbing scales at least when young; infl often provided with showy bracts. 45/2000, mainly warm New World.

SELECTED REFERENCES

Brown, G. K. and A. J. Gilmartin. 1989. Chromosome numbers in Bromeliaceae. Amer. J. Bot. 76: 657--665. Brown, G. K. and A. J. Gilmartin. 1989b. Stigma types in Bromeliaceae---A systematic survey. Syst. Bot. 14: 110--132. Brown, G. K. and R. G. Terry. 1992. Petal appendages in Bromeliaceae. Amer. J. Bot. 79: 1051--1071. Smith, L. B. and R. J. Downs. 1974. Pitcairnioideae. In: Organization for Flora Neotropica. 1968+. Flora Neotropica. 75+ nos. New York. No. 14(1). Smith, L. B. and R. J. Downs. 1977. Tillandsioideae. In: Organization for Flora Neotropica. 1968+. Flora Neotropica. 75+ nos. New York. No. 14(2). Smith, L. B. and R. J. Downs. 1979. Bromelioideae. In: Organization for Flora Neotropica. 1968+. Flora Neotropica. 75+ nos. New York. No. 14(3).

Herbs, perennial, terrestrial, among or on rocks, or epiphytic. Roots usually present, often poorly developed in epiphytic taxa. Stems very short to very elongate. Leaves usually spirally arranged, forming water-impounding rosette, occasionally lax and / or 2-ranked, simple, margins serrate or entire, trichomes nearly always covering surface, peltate, water-absorbing. Inflorescences terminal or lateral, sessile to scapose, simple or compound; bracts usually present, conspicuous. Flowers bisexual or functionally unisexual, radially symmetric to slightly bilaterally symmetric; perianth in 2 distinct sets of 3; stamens in 2 series of 3; ovary inferior or superior; placentation axile. Fruits capsules or berries. Seeds plumose, winged, or unappendaged.