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; -ia ) + -ad ¹

Example Sentences

A towering magenta bromeliad with a pool at its core is home to frogs and damselflies.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 29, 2022

But consider that when Ho began writing her book five years ago, she bought herself a bromeliad and a traveler’s palm.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 3, 2022

She has worn out a path along about 20 feet of the fence line, another 10 feet along my bromeliad patch, and about 10 feet in front of my carambola tree.

From Washington Post • Jun. 26, 2017

When I was in college, in north Florida, I joined the bromeliad society, a tropical-plant group.

From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2015

One individual was found in a bromeliad about three meters above the ground in the daytime.

From Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca by Duellman, William E.