Welcome to the
World of Bromeliads
Learn about bromeliads and tour
specimens from our collection!
scroll down to begin
the family
BROMELIACEAE
is comprised of about 45 genera and 2,000 species. These flowering plants can be either epiphytic, terrestrial, or saxicolous.
Pictured:
Tillandsia cyanea
TERRESTRIAL bromeliads
grow in the ground. The primary purpose of their roots is to take up water and nutrients from the soil.
EPIPHYTIC bromeliads
grow on top of other plants. The primary purpose of their roots is for stabilization, rather than nutrient uptake. Epiphytes get their water and nutrients from the air and small pools of water that form on the host plant.
Pictured:
Tillandsia espinosae in bloom
SAXICOLOUS bromeliads
grow on top of rocks. They function similairly to epiphytic bromeliads in that they have special roots located at leaf bases within their "cups" that take up water and nutrients.
Watch UWYO Extension's video
about caring for bromeliads, filmed in our conservatory.
DID YOU KNOW?
Pineapples are members of the family Bromeliaceae !
Bromeliads are primarily found in tropical and warm-temperate parts of the Americas.
They live in rainforests, dry zones in the tropics, mountains, and deserts.
Bromeliads have thick, waxy, overlapping leaves that form a bowl shape.
This reservoir can serve as a miniature habitat for small organisms like frogs and insects.
Learn about these miniature habitats while focusing on a particular case study-
the Golden Frog
View some of the types of bromeliads
that can be found in our collection
Scroll over the name to reveal the specimen
*This activity is not mobile friendly