Bromeliad Society International

Genera Etymology

The derivation of the names of the genera in the bromeliad family can be interesting and sometimes provide additional insight into the genus. Genus names for bromeliads have been created in three ways:

1. Names honoring botanists, patrons, discoverers or other persons (36 genera)
2. Descriptions composed of Greek or Latin components (18 genera)
3. Common names used for the plant by the indigenous peoples (2 genera)

The source of the name is usually stated by the the author in the original publication describing the genus. While it should be a simple matter to locate this publication and read the author's description, it is not always so simple. Occasionally the reasoning behind a name is absent or unclear. Sometimes the person being honored was so well known at the time by the author that a detailed description seemed superfluous.

The following list provides a brief description of the sources of the names of the genera:

• Acanthostachys – From the Greek “acanthos” (thorny, spiny) and “stachys” (a flower spike)
• Aechmea – From the Greek “aichme” (a spear)
• Alcantarea – For Dom Pedro d'Alcβntara, second Emperor of Brazil (1840-1889)
• Ananas – From the Guarani Indian (Brazil/Paraguay) name for the pineapple
• Androlepis – From the Greek “andros” (man) and “lepis” (scale)
• Araeococcus – From the Greek “araios” (thin, weak, slight) and the Latin “coccus” (berry)
• Billbergia – For Gustave Johannes Billberg, Swedish botanist (1772-1844)
• Brewcaria – For Charles Brewer-Carνas, Venezuelan explorer and naturalist
• Brocchinia – For Giovanni Battista Brocchi, Italian naturalist (1772-1826)
• Bromelia – For Olaf Bromelius, Swedish medical doctor and botanist (1639-1705)
• Canistropsis – From the genus Canistrum and the Greek “opsis” (resembling)
• Canistrum – From the Greek “kanistron” (a kind of basket carried on the head)
• Catopsis – From the Greek “kata” (hanging down) and “opsis” (appearance)
• Connellia – For Frederick Vavasour McConnell, English ornithologist and biologist (1868-1914)
• Cottendorfia – For Johann Georg Freiherr Cotta von Cottendorf, German patron of the sciences (1796-1863)
• Cryptanthus – From the Greek “cryptos” (hidden) and “anthos” (flower)
• Deinacanthon – From the Greek “deinos” (terrible) and “anthos” (flower)
• Deuterocohnia – For Ferdinand Julius Cohn, German botanist and bacteriologist (1828-1898)
• Disteganthus – From the Greek “dis” (two), “steg” (covering), and “anthos” (flower)
• Dyckia – For Prince Joseph Salm-Reifferscheid-Dyck, German (Prussian) botanist and horticulturist (1773-1861)
• Edmundoa – For Edmundo Pereira, Brazilian botanist (1914-1986)
• Eduandrea – For Ιdouard Franηois Andrι, French horticulturalist (1840-1911)
• Encholirium – From the Greek “enchos” (spear) and “leiron” (lily)
• Fascicularia – From the Latin “fasciculus” (bundle) and “arius” (pertaining to)
• Fernseea – For Heinrich Wawra von Fernsee, German botanist (1831-1887)
• Fosterella – For Mulford Bateman Foster, American horticulturist and collector (1888-1978)
• Glomeropitcairnia – From the Latin “glomero” (to form into a ball) and the genus Pitcairnia
• Greigia – For Samuel Alexeivich Greig, President of the Russian Horticulture Society (1827-1887)
• Guzmania – For Anastasio Guzman, Spanish pharmacist and naturalist
• Hechtia – For Julius Gottfried Conrad Hecht, German counselor to the King of Prussia (1771-1837)
• Hohenbergia – For the Prince of Wόrtemburg, German patron of botany known as Hohenberg
• Hohenbergiopsis – From the genus “Hohenbergia” and the Greek “opsis” (resembling)
• Lindmania – For Carl Axel Magnus Lindman, Swedish botanist (1856-1928)
• Lymania – For Lyman Bradford Smith, American botanist (1904-1997)
• Mezobromelia – For Carl Christian Mez, German botanist (1866-1944)
• Navia – For Bernard Sebastian von Nau, German supporter of natural history and physics
• Neoglaziovia – For Auguste Glasiou, French landscape architect and bromeliad collector (1833-1906)
• Neoregelia – For Edouard August von Regel, director of St. Petersburg Botanic Gardens in Russia (1815-1892)
• Nidularium – From the Latin “nidus” (nest) and “arius” (pertaining to)
• Ochagavia – For Sylvestris Ochagavia, Chilean minister of education (1853-54)
• Orthophytum – From the Greek “orthos” (straight) and “phyton” (plant)
• Pepinia – For Pierre Denis Pιpin, French member of the Imperial and Central Society of Agriculture (c.1802-1876)
• Pitcairnia – For Dr. William Pitcairn, English physician and gardener (1711-1791)
• Portea – For Dr. Marius Porte, French naturalist
• Pseudaechmea – From the Greek “pseudos” (false) and the genus Aechmea
• Pseudananas – From the Greek “pseudos” (false) and the genus Ananas
• Puya – From the Mapuche Indian (Chile) word meaning “point”
• Quesnelia – For M. Quesnel, French consul to French Guiana
• Racinaea – For Racine Foster, wife of Mulford Foster and co-founder of the BSI (1910-1991)
• Ronnbergia – For Auguste Ronnberg, Belgian Director of Agriculture and Horticulture in 1874
• Sequencia – From DNA sequence
• Steyerbromelia – For Julian A. Steyermark, American plant collector, author, and editor (1909-1988)
• Tillandsia – For Dr. Elias Erici Tillandz (originally Tillander), Swedish physician and botanist (1640-1693)
• Ursulaea – For Ursula Baensch, plant breeder and co-author with her husband of ‘Blooming Bromeliads’
• Vriesea – For Willem Hendrik de Vriese, Dutch botanist and physician (1806-1862)
• Werauhia – For Werner Rauh, German botanist (1913-2000)
• Wittrockia – For Veit Bracher Wittrock, Swedish botanist (1839-1914)