Welcome to the

World of Bromeliads

Learn about bromeliads and tour

specimens from our collection!

scroll down to begin

the family


is comprised of about 45 genera and 2,000 species. These flowering plants can be either epiphytic,  terrestrial, or saxicolous. 


     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. 



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.  

Image by Max Letek

Watch UWYO Extension's video

about caring for bromeliads, filmed in our conservatory.


Pineapples are members of the family Bromeliaceae !

Magnified Grass

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

Gradient Ocean

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

gallery photo sources

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