Bromeliad Tropical Plants

Pineapples

• Though five different species of pineapple bromeliads (Ananas spp.) exist, the most famous and widely grown for crops is the edible pineapple (Ananas comosus). These soil-grown plants bear sharply spined strap-like leaves in a tall rosette, topped eventually by a plump collection of bracts. Red pineapple (Ananas bracteatus) and miniature pineapple (Ananas nanus) grow with similar leaves and habit, but produce bright red fruits and chicken egg-sized fruits, respectively. Both provide curious ornamental features to the tropical garden.

Air Plants

• The largest group of bromeliads are the air plants (Tillandsia spp.), according to "Bromeliads: A Cultural Manual." Air plants are so named because they don't grow in soil but cling to tree branches with their roots, seemingly growing from exposure to bright light, rain and the air. Air plants usually develop light green to silvery leaves that look like spidery rosettes and bloom with pink, red or purple flowers and colorful bracts. Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) belongs to this genus of bromeliads. Other ornamental air plants include bulb plant (Tillandsia bulbosa), thread-leaved air plant (Tillandsia filifolia), sky plant (Tillandsia ionantha), fuzzy-wuzzy (Tillandsia pruinosa) and roofy air plant (Tillandsia tectorum).

Torch Bromeliads

• Native to the humid mountain rainforests, out of hot, direct sunlight, are torch bromeliads (Guzmania spp.). Their leaves are glossy green and mundane looking, but the plants become vibrant once the thick colorful cluster of red, orange, pink or yellow bracts appear in what resembles a club or torch. Some modern cultivars develop burgundy or red leaves, looking more ornamental even when the long-lasting flower stalk isn't present.

Neoregelia Bromeliads

• With about 100 species, the genus Neoregelia includes bromeliads that do not develop flower spikes but form tiny blossoms that remain tucked in the center of their leaf rosettes. Gardeners desire Neoregelia bromeliads since they tend to display colorfully patterned leaves -- stripes, blotches, freckles and multicolors. These bromeliads need bright light to develop the best leaf colors and patterns, usually with tiny teeth or pointed leaf tips.

Earthen Stars

• Earthen stars (Cryptanthus spp.) are small bromeliads that look like starfish that cover the soil in the tropical garden. Their flowers are easily overlooked. as they're tiny and tucked in the leaf bases, but their saw-edged leaves blush green, white, pink or red in ample indirect light.

Aechmea Bromeliads

• Aechmea bromeliads (Aechmea spp.) comprise over 100 species and develop a vase-like tank that holds rainwater. The leaves are leathery and wide, often curling at their tips, and range in color from silver to green, some with ornate stripes. Aechmea bromeliads grow without soil, usually clasping their roots onto tree trunks or moist rocks in brightly lit or partially sunny tropical habitats. Besides their architecturally interesting leaves, these plants produce long-lasting, often large and branching flower stalks colored yellow, red, orange, pink or purple.

Vriesea Bromeliads

• Combining the ornate leaves of Neoregelia with the ornate flowering stalks of Aechmea, the bromeliad genus Vriesea contains 250 species are most closely related to Tillandsia, according to "Bromeliads: A Cultural Manual." Vriesea plants tend to grow in shadier, cooler tropical locales and bear smooth, leathery leaves that sometimes display speckles or stripes. Their flower bracts are brightly colored, usually in shades or red or yellow.

Arid Bromeliads

• Two groups of bromeliads are native to dry, sunny deserts of Central America and look more like aloe or cacti. Dyckia and Hechtia leaves are stiff and viciously lined with curving, stiff spines. The foliage is either whitish gray, gray-green or burgundy in color. Flower stalks are thin and showy, bearing yellow to orange tubular flowers in the genus Dyckia and creamy white flowers in genus Hechtia.