The Incredible Bromeliad

Bromeliaceae is a family of monocot flowering plants of 51 genera and around 3475 known species. Bromeliads are naturally growing in the tropics.  

Dr Abe V Rotor
LIVING with NATURE CENTER
San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is the only commercially edible species belonging to
Family Bromeliaceae. It fact pineapple is one of the top ten fruits in the world market. Its uses are varied from fresh fruit and juice to ingredients in various recipes. The fresh fruit is rich in calories, vitamins, minerals and high digestible fiber. Philippines is among the world's top producers of pineapple on the backyard, as intercrop with coconut and orchard trees, and on plantations.

 

Bromeliads are raised as ornamental plants in gardens, greenhouses, and indoors. They are treasured by florists and gardeners for their colorful false flowers which vary in shades and hues as influenced by local environmental conditions. Bromeliads require a lot of water; other than this, they are easy to grow and maintain.

 

Miniature pond in the heart of the bromeliad is nursery and home of many organisms, including frogs and fish. It is Nature's pond in the sky where bromeliads live as epiphytes. It constitutes a complete ecosystem.

A seedling of a fig grows from the dead heart of a bromeliad and develops into a monstrous tree monster - the strangler's fig or balete, which will eventually colonize and kill the host tree and all its symbionts. ~