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Bromeliads include epiphytes, such as Spanish moss, and ground plants, such as the pineapple. Many bromeliads have a "cup" formed by their tightly-overlapping leaves, in which they store water. However, the family is diverse enough to include the cup-type epiphytes, grey-leaved Tillandsias (which gather water only from leaf structures called trichomes), and even a large number of desert-dwelling succulents.
The largest bromeliad is Puya raimondii (growing way too tall for your backyard), and the smallest is probably Tillandsia usneoides, or 'Spanish moss'.
References
" class="external">http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta/angio/www/bromelia.htm
as of 2002-06-18
| Bromeliad Society International
Genera