What are bromeliads: Difference between revisions
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== Roots == | === Roots === | ||
Like as in all monocotyledonous plants the main root dies shortly after the germination and so called adventitious roots are built. Plants living on the ground form a properly developed root system which contributes to feeding the plant with water and nutriment. On the contrary the epiphytic plants use their roots mainly to fix them on a surface. A few species (for example ''Tillandsia usneoides'') do not produce any roots after the primary root has perished. | Like as in all monocotyledonous plants the main root dies shortly after the germination and so called adventitious roots are built. Plants living on the ground form a properly developed root system which contributes to feeding the plant with water and nutriment. On the contrary the epiphytic plants use their roots mainly to fix them on a surface. A few species (for example ''Tillandsia usneoides'') do not produce any roots after the primary root has perished. | ||
== Flowers and Inflorescences == | === Flowers and Inflorescences === | ||
[[file:Puya raimondii hábito.jpg|thumb]] | [[file:Puya raimondii hábito.jpg|thumb]] | ||
Like all other monocotyledonous plants Bromeliads always have trifoliate flowers. That indi-cates that the number of all organs of the plant is divisible by three. That is: Three sepals, three petals, six stamens and the ovary, consisting of three carpels. Often the signaling to attract potential pollinators is increased by very decorative bracts. Bromeliads predominantly have male and female flower organs combined in one flower. Only a small number of species produce unisexual flowers. They are called dioecious, meaning the whole plants are either male or female (f. e. the taxa ''Androlepis'', ''Hechtia'' and some species of ''Catopsis'' and ''Aechmea''). Scent occurs regrettably seldom in Bromeliads. The inflorescences are plain or compound racemes or panicles shaped very differently. Whereas the taxon ''Neoregelia'' builds his flowers sunken deeply in the cistern, sometimes even hard to spot, the inflorescence of ''Puya raimondii'' with his thousands of individual flowers may be higher than 8 (!) meters. This species has, by the by, made it’s way into the “Guinness book of records” as the plant with the highest inflorescence in the world. | Like all other monocotyledonous plants Bromeliads always have trifoliate flowers. That indi-cates that the number of all organs of the plant is divisible by three. That is: Three sepals, three petals, six stamens and the ovary, consisting of three carpels. Often the signaling to attract potential pollinators is increased by very decorative bracts. Bromeliads predominantly have male and female flower organs combined in one flower. Only a small number of species produce unisexual flowers. They are called dioecious, meaning the whole plants are either male or female (f. e. the taxa ''Androlepis'', ''Hechtia'' and some species of ''Catopsis'' and ''Aechmea''). Scent occurs regrettably seldom in Bromeliads. The inflorescences are plain or compound racemes or panicles shaped very differently. Whereas the taxon ''Neoregelia'' builds his flowers sunken deeply in the cistern, sometimes even hard to spot, the inflorescence of ''Puya raimondii'' with his thousands of individual flowers may be higher than 8 (!) meters. This species has, by the by, made it’s way into the “Guinness book of records” as the plant with the highest inflorescence in the world. | ||
== Fruits and Seeds == | === Fruits and Seeds === | ||
Bromeliads form dry capsules or berries. The fruits often represent an essential criterion for classification. An exceptional position is thereby reserved to the pineapple. Her "fruit" consists actually of an edible composite of fruits (''Synkarpium''), wherein the individual fruit can hardly be distinguished. The berries stay closed even at the state of maturity. They are eaten by animals which excrete the seeds undigested and thus spread them widely. In contrast the capsules form winged seeds or parachute-like appendixes which are distributed by the wind. | Bromeliads form dry capsules or berries. The fruits often represent an essential criterion for classification. An exceptional position is thereby reserved to the pineapple. Her "fruit" consists actually of an edible composite of fruits (''Synkarpium''), wherein the individual fruit can hardly be distinguished. The berries stay closed even at the state of maturity. They are eaten by animals which excrete the seeds undigested and thus spread them widely. In contrast the capsules form winged seeds or parachute-like appendixes which are distributed by the wind. | ||