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Synonyms: Tillandsiaceae Wilbr.
Common name: Bromeliad Family.
Number of genera 58. Number of species 2110.
Angiosperm. Liliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit anthocarp, or pericarpium; simple; capsule, or berry; septicidal capsule, or loculicidal capsule (not Spjut); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; compound; sorosus (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.); without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s), or within accessory organ(s); within peduncle (for sorosus); many; 3-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; apex not beaked; dehiscent, or indehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly; actively; elastically; without replum. Epicarp durable; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present, or absent; fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp present, or absent; not separating from exocarp; thin; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; without operculum; without secretory cavities; without longitudinal ridges. Funiculus short; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.
Seeds
Aril absent. Seed larger than minute; oblong, or linear, or ovate, or circular; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; surface smooth, or unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface reticulate, or striate; without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; without notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approach each other; without glands; without bristles; pubescent, or glabrous; with tuft of hairs at one end (coma) (Tillandsioideae only); with straight hairs; without agglutinated hairs; without mucilaginous hairs; without glandular pubescence; usually in capsular fruit with wing(s), or without wings (never winged in Bromelioideae); 4-winged; with wing at one end; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; black; thin; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development helobial (Goldberg: "helobial, …at first starting as free-nuclear, later becoming cellular); copious; mealy; smooth; with starch; with compound starch grains; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.2–1.8 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; at least lateral to endosperm axile and centric, or peripheral; linear; straight, or J-shaped; parallel to seed length, or oblique to seed length (somewhat & occasional angled); lying along one side of endosperm, or embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleoptile; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 1 cotyledon. Cotyledons one and not modified into scutellum; not circinately coiled. Hypocotyl-radicle well developed (probably); straight; not thickened.
Distribution
New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Africa (West tropical for Pitcairnia feliciana).
Notes
Subfamilies: 1) Pitcairioideae (superior or inferior) septicidal capsule; seeds winged (not winged in Navia) & not plumose; 2) Tillandsioideae (superior) capsule: seeds plumose crowned; 3) Bromelioideae (inferior) berry or rarely multiple fleshy fruit; seed without appendages. Embryo 1–20 times longer than wide. Testa cellular or fleshy, suberrose, silky.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ISTA listed seeds.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Aechmea magdalenae (Andre) Andre ex Baker -- Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. -- Vriesea splendens (Brongn.) Lem. -- Symbols: aagricultural and vegetable seeds (Table 2A Part 1); ttree and shrub species (Table 2A Part 2); fflower, spice, herb, and medicinal seeds (Table 2A Part 3); wweed seeds. -- Last updated September 2008.
Accepted genera
Acanthostachys Klotzsch -- Aechmea Ruiz & Pav., nom. cons. -- Alcantarea (E. Morren ex Mez) Harms -- Ananas Mill. -- Androlepis Brongn. ex Houllet -- Araeococcus Brongn. -- Ayensua L. B. Sm. -- Billbergia Thunb. -- Brewcaria L. B. Sm. et al. -- Brocchinia Schult. f. -- Bromelia L. -- Canistrum E. Morren -- Catopsis Griseb. -- Chevaliera Gaudich. ex Beer -- Connellia N. E. Br. -- Cottendorfia Schult. f. -- Cryptanthus Otto & A. Dietr., nom. cons. -- Deinacanthon Mez -- Deuterocohnia Mez -- Disteganthus Lem. -- Dyckia Schult. f. -- Encholirium Mart. ex Schult. f. -- Fascicularia Mez -- Fernseea Baker -- Fosterella L. B. Sm. -- Glomeropitcairnia Mez -- Greigia Regel -- Guzmania Ruiz & Pav. -- Hechtia Klotzsch -- Hohenbergia Schult. f. -- Hohenbergiopsis L. B. Sm. & Read -- Lamprococcus Beer -- Lindmania Mez -- Lymania Read -- Macrochordion de Vriese -- Mezobromelia L. B. Sm. -- Navia Schult. f. -- Neoglaziovia Mez -- Neoregelia L. B. Sm. -- Nidularium Lem. -- Ochagavia Phil. -- Ortgiesia Regel -- Orthophytum Beer -- Pepinia Brongn. ex André -- Pitcairnia L'Hér., nom. cons. -- Podaechmea (Mez) L. B. Sm. & W. J. Kress -- Portea Brongn. ex K. Koch -- Pseudaechmea L. B. Sm. & Read -- Pseudananas (Hassl.) Harms -- Puya Molina -- Quesnelia Gaudich. -- Racinaea M. A. Spencer & L. B. Sm. -- Ronnbergia E. Morren & André -- Steyerbromelia L. B. Sm. -- Tillandsia L. -- Vriesea Lindl., nom. cons. -- Werauhia J. R. Grant -- Wittrockia Lindm.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 1161. Varadarajan, G.S. & A.J. Gilmartin. 1988. Seed morphology of the subfamily Pitcairnioideae (Bromeliaceae) and its systematic implications. Amer. J. Bot. 75:808–818.
General references
Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, Engler, A. and K. Prantl. 1924 and onward. Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilimien. W. Engelman, Leipzig, Flora Neotropica. 1968–74. Nos. 1–14. Hafner Publishing Company, Darien and 1976-. Nos. 15-present. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx [monograph number], Gaertner, J. 1788–1805. De fructibus et seminibus plantarum. The Author, Stuttgart, Goldberg, A. 1986 (dicots) and 1989 (monocots). Classification, evolution, and phylogeny of the familes of Dicotyledons. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 58 for dicots (314 pp.) and 71 for monocots (74 pp.). [Goldberg's illustrations are reproduced from older publications and these should be consulted], Gunn, C.R., J.H. Wiersema, C.A. Ritchie, and J.H. Kirkbride, Jr. 1992 and amendments. Families and genera of Spermatophytes recognized by the Agricultural Research Service. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1796:1–500, LeMaout, E. and J. Decaisne. 1876. A general system of botany, 1,065 p. Longmans, Green, and Co., London, Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Martin, A.C. 1946. The comparative internal morphology of seeds. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 36:513–660, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Poor fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, Goldberg, LeMaout & Decaisne. Seed illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, Goldberg, LeMaout & Decaisne, Flora Neotropica [14]. Embryo illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, Goldberg, LeMaout & Decaisne, Martin, Flora Neotropica [14].
• Seed. 1 of 6. Ananas bracteatus (Lindl.) Schult. & Schult. f.: seeds. • Fruit. 2 of 6. Dykia floribunda Grieseb.: dehisced fruits. • Seed. 3 of 6. Dykia floribunda Grieseb.: seeds. • Fruit and seed. 4 of 6. Tillandsia usneoides (L.) L.: fruit and seeds. • Seed. 5 of 6. Tillandsia usneoides (L.) L.: seed. • Embryo. 6 of 6. Ananas ananassoides (Baker) L. B. Sm.: embryo.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘J.H. Kirkbride, Jr., C.R. Gunn, and M.J. Dallwitz. 2000 onwards. Family guide for fruits and seeds: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 12th April 2021. delta-intkey.com’.
