Botanical Family · Poales

Bromeliaceae

Pineapple Family

9 speciesOrder Poales8+ well-known plants

The Bromeliaceae family (Pineapple Family) is a botanical family placed in the order Poales. In the SASYA catalogue it spans 9 species across 7 genera. Members range from shrubs to herbs. Well-represented genera include Aechmea, Ananas and Billbergia. Familiar examples include Matchstick Bromeliad, Wild Pineapple and pineapple.

Browse all 9 species ↓

Representative specimen · Bromeliaceae

Key pattern

Stiff, narrow, often spine-edged leaves arranged in a tight rosette that channels rainwater down into a central water-holding tank; showy three-parted flowers, often on a colourful bracted spike, ripen into a fleshy berry or, in pineapple, a fused multiple fruit.

Many species are epiphytes that grow entirely on other trees without parasitising them, absorbing water and nutrients through specialised leaf scales rather than roots.

Identify the species

Which Bromeliaceae species is this?

Answer what you can see and narrow it down to a single Bromeliaceae species.

Click a node to trace its path · pinch or scroll to zoom · drag to pan

HabitWhat is the plant's growth habit?

Herb

Rosette epiphyte

Rosette terrestrial

Tree

Family identification method

To check whether a plant belongs to Bromeliaceae, compare the leaf arrangement, leaf type, flower symmetry, fruit type, and one distinctive marker together. A single feature can mislead; the family pattern is the combination.

Learn the full family-identification method