Bromelia

Bromelia
Bromelia karatas
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Bromeliaceae
Subfamily: Bromelioideae
Genus: Bromelia
L.
Synonyms[1]
  • Karatas Mill.
  • Pinguin Adans.
  • Psedomelia Neck.
  • Agallostachys Beer
  • Distiacanthus Linden
  • Deinacanthon Mez

Bromelia is the type genus of the botanical family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae. Bromelia species are widespread across much of Latin America and the West Indies,[1] and are characterized by flowers with a deeply cleft calyx. The genus is named after the Swedish medical doctor and botanist Olof Bromelius (1639-1705).

Species

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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."[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk, Sir William Jardine, Andrew Crichton (1841). "The Natural History of the Fishes of Guiana". W. H. Lizars. p. 102.


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