bromeliad

American  

[broh-mee-lee-ad] / broʊˈmi liˌæd /

noun

1. any of numerous, usually epiphytic tropical American plants, having long, stiff leaves and showy flowers, and including the pineapple, Spanish moss, and many species grown as houseplants or ornamentals.

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bromeliad British  

/ brəʊˈmiːlɪˌæd /

noun

1. any plant of the tropical American family Bromeliaceae , typically epiphytes with a rosette of fleshy leaves. The family includes the pineapple and Spanish moss

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bromeliad Scientific  

/ brō-mē′lē-ăd′ /

1. Any of various tropical American plants of the family Bromeliaceae, most of which are epiphytes. They usually have long stiff leaves, colorful flowers, and showy bracts. The bromeliads include the pineapple, the Spanish moss, and numerous ornamental plants.

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Other Word Forms

• bromeliaceous
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of bromeliad

1865–70; < New Latin Bromeli ( a ), the type genus of the family (named after Olaus Bromelius (1639–1705), Swedish botanist; see -ia) + -ad ¹

Example Sentences

South Bay Bromeliad Associates members will be displaying their own bromeliads, including specimens of tillandsia, neoregelia, dyckia, vriesea, aechmea, billbergia and guzmanias.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2022

Branching out in formal symmetry on either side, other collections are housed in the Fern House, the Bromeliad House and the Cactus House.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 15, 2022

He and his wife called their nursery the Bromeliad Tree.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 15, 1995

Laroche says that in 1990 he showed up at the World Bromeliad Conference with an astonishing twelve-by-twenty-five-foot display featuring star-shaped bromeliads, Day-Glo paint, black light, and Christmas lights arranged in the shape of actual constellations.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 15, 1995