What Are Bromeliads and Where Can I Find Taxonomy Information on BSI?

Updated

Bromeliads are the plant family Bromeliaceae — the same family that includes pineapple — and BSI (the Bromeliad Society International, established in 1950) publishes taxonomy resources for them at bsi.org. If you want to identify a plant, check whether a name is currently accepted, or look up natural hybrids, the site's Bromeliads → Taxonomy section is the place to start: it links to a Taxonomy Introduction, an Accepted Name List, the new Bromeliad Taxon list, and a Natural Hybrid List.

What counts as a bromeliad

A bromeliad is any plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The family is best known horticulturally for genera such as Tillandsia, Aechmea, Neoregelia, Guzmania, Vriesea, and Dyckia, and economically for the pineapple (Ananas). BSI's site treats "What are bromeliads?" as a distinct introductory page under its Bromeliads menu, separate from the taxonomy material — so if you are completely new to the group, read that page first, then move into taxonomy.

The taxonomy resources BSI provides

Under Bromeliads → Taxonomy, BSI lists four entries:

Resource What it is for
Taxonomy Introduction Orientation to how bromeliad classification is organized before you dive into name lists
Accepted Name List Checking which scientific names are currently accepted
The new Bromeliad Taxon list A newer taxon list, listed separately from the Accepted Name List
Natural Hybrid List Names/records for hybrids occurring in nature, as opposed to cultivated hybrids

A separate Bromeliad Cultivar Register sits outside the Taxonomy menu. That distinction matters: taxonomy lists deal with scientific names and natural hybrids, while the cultivar register covers cultivated varieties — so a garden cultivar name normally belongs in the register, not the Accepted Name List.

How to look up a bromeliad name

  1. Go to bsi.org and open the Bromeliads menu.
  2. Choose Taxonomy if you have a scientific name or want to confirm one; choose Bromeliad Cultivar Register if you have a cultivar name.
  3. Read the Taxonomy Introduction first if you are unsure how the lists relate to each other.
  4. Search the Accepted Name List for the name you have. If it appears, the name is accepted per that list.
  5. If it does not appear, check The new Bromeliad Taxon list — BSI lists it as a separate resource, so a name may appear there rather than in the Accepted Name List.
  6. If your plant is a natural hybrid, check the Natural Hybrid List instead of expecting it in the accepted-name material.
  7. For images and further verification, use BSI FloraPix Gallery, linked from the same Bromeliads area.

Expected result: you end up with either a confirmed accepted name, a pointer to the newer taxon list, a natural-hybrid entry, or a cultivar-register entry — and you know which of those categories your plant falls into.

Related resources worth knowing

  • Encyclopaedia of Bromeliads — listed under BSI's Links, useful as a second reference alongside the name lists.
  • BSI Journal Archive and Bromeliad Bibliography — under Publications, for taxonomic articles and literature behind name changes.
  • Affiliated societies — local groups listed under Affiliates, helpful when you need identification help with a plant in hand.

Common snags

  • JavaScript required. BSI's site states "Please enable JavaScript to view this website," so menus may not open if scripts are blocked.
  • Two name lists, not one. Because the Accepted Name List and the new Bromeliad Taxon list are separate entries, a name missing from one is not automatically invalid — check the other.
  • Cultivar vs. species. Cultivar names are handled by the Cultivar Register, not the taxonomy name lists; mixing them up is a frequent source of confusion.
  • Membership content. BSI separates public pages from Member Only Content, with a Join the BSI section and renewal pages. The site's pricing signals include "subscription," so treat member-only areas as requiring membership rather than assuming open access.