BROME'LIA (after the Swedish botanist Brown. A genus of monocotyledonous plants, the type of the family Bromeliacea., which em braces about 40 genera and 400 species, all of which are American. They are stemless, or with short stem:, rigid, channeled, often spiny or scaly leaves. Prominent among the plants of this order are the bromelias, pineapple, Bill bergia, and Tillandsia. species are epiphy tic, growing attached to other plants, but not deriving subsistence from them. A eoinmon ex ample is the Spanish or long moss (Tillandsia usneoides), of the Southern States, West ladies, etc. From this plant is obtained much of the so-called hair for stuffing mattresses, furniture, etc. The bromelias are West Indian and Brazil ian in origin, but some have been introduced into other countries for the fibre they yield. Bromelia pinguin, called the wild pineapple, is a very common species. It is valuable as a hedge-plant, the rigid, spiny leaves resisting perfectly the attacks of animals. The leaves are numerous, 5 to fi feet long and 2 inches wide, tapering gradually to the tip. Another
and perhaps more valuable species is Bronirlia sylrestris. It has leaves 3 or 4 feet long and inches in width. The fibre of this is be lieved to be superior to that of Brome/ia pin gain. The fibre of a number of other species haa been more or less favorably reported upon, but so great is the confusion of the species that their botanical origin cannot be definitely stat ed. The cultivated pineapple (Ananas satire.) yields a good fibre. and the famous pifia or pine apple cloth of the Philippine Islands is said to be prodneed from a wild form of the pineapple. This and other forms of these fibrous plants grow in great abundance throughout the tropics, and a thorough study would doubtless reveal their true value and relationships. The fruits of sonic of the wild species of Bromelia are used for various purposes. For the fruit of Ananas, see PINEAPPLE.