Bromeliaceae

This volume gathers the extensive research on how bromeliads live and function. The family includes about 2,700 described species, most of them native to the Neotropics. Rather than naming and sorting species, the author examines how the plants are built and how they work, covering their reproductive and vegetative structures, underlying physiology, ecological roles, and evolutionary history.

The book is organized around two central questions. The first asks why bromeliads have been so successful in tree-dwelling (epiphytic) and other harsh habitats. The second asks why they support so many animals in the forest canopy beyond pollinators and fruit eaters. To answer them, the author explores unusual mechanisms for regulating water, tolerating both high and low levels of exposure, and forming partnerships with ants. Comparisons with other plants show how these traits give the family a range of adaptations and ecological roles that few other flowering plant families match.

The emphasis throughout is on function and the mechanisms behind it. Much of the existing literature on bromeliads focuses on taxonomy and horticulture, so this book fills a gap by treating their basic biology in depth.