Benzing 2023 (Article) Bromeliaceae

Bromeliaceae: A brief Profile and some Topics that Warrant Further Inquiry

Author(s):—D.H. Benzing

Publication:—Selbyana 34: 1–79. (2023)

Abstract:—Seldom do professionals and laypersons exchange in writing technical information even though doing so could ben-efit all participants. It’s a missed opportunity when family Bromeliaceae is the subject, and the would-be consumers are botanists, commercial growers, and hobbyists. For these individuals, one of the greatest of the impediments is a dichoto-mized literature with technical data and jargon-rich narratives served up for the first audience and for the second a more casual less exacting mix. It’s this special issue of Selbyana that represents my effort to help narrow this gap—to author a publication useful for individuals with different levels of preparation and different reasons for wanting to know more about where the bromeliads came from and how they operate today. It’s my hope that every reader whatever their incen-tive will find its contents useful and perhaps even inspiring enough to prompt further inquiry into the evolution and per-formance of this fascinating group of plants.
The information presented in the introduction to Bromeliaceae and the following ten topical essays occasionally is redundant and the cross-referencing extensive compared to the number of citations that require consulting the primary scientific literature. It’s a tactic designed to make as self-contained and explanatory as reasonable what some individuals might consider a rather daunting body of information. As compensation, anyone wishing to explore many of the covered subjects in more detail can consult the bibliography. A glossary tailored for the non-specialist further ties the contents of this volume of Selbyana into a higher order whole by including examples drawn from Bromeliaceae. Where reliance on a rarified term cannot be avoided it’s usually defined at first use. Several of the essays could serve as a basis for a work-shop or mini course. The artwork, except for some of the photographs, is original with the author.
Most of the facts contained in the following essays first appeared in dozens of what already is a substantial and growing collections of publications that comprise the scientific literature devoted to bromeliad biology. Given that a nar-rative’s impact can be diminished by too many citations I’ve cited only enough such reports to illustrate the kinds of questions being addressed and methods employed by today’s plant scientists. Treatments that deal with photosynthesis, mineral nutrition and water relations prevail because these are the aspects of botanical structure and function that most decidedly place Bromeliaceae ahead of most of the other angiosperm families as ecologically mega-diverse and the home of some of the plant kingdom’s most impressive practitioners of unusual, sometimes even novel, lifestyles. Excluded because they don't figure prominently in the presentations are publications concerned primarily with horticulture and taxonomy. Those reference that are included are accompanied by summaries of their contents.

Keywords:—Bromeliaceae, water relations, mineral nutrition, plant immobility, genomics, adaptation, plant body, epiphytism, atmospheric, environmental response, climate change