Neoregelia is a genus of epiphyte in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, native plant to South American rainforests.
Description
Neoregelias are
epiphyte plants, meaning they grow attached to the branches of forest trees; they do not naturally grow on soil, though they can be cultivated on the ground in controlled conditions, such as a garden, provided they are kept in a very airy growing medium such as pine bark that allows the root system to breathe. Their roots serve primarily as hold-fasts to grip their canopy perches and are adapted poorly to absorb nutrients, which is instead obtained through leaf litter, animal droppings and rainfall that collects in the prominent central cup exhibited by most species in the genus. They have mostly broad, relatively flat leaves often marked brightly with red, purple or yellow pigments which serve to protect the green photosynthetic tissues from sunburn and through selective breeding and hybridization, thousands of cultivars in many color combinations, many also striped with white, have been produced.
The of these plants form in the shallow central depression - the "cup" - of the plant, which often partially fills with water, through which the flowers bloom. Neoregelias, like most bromeliads, bloom only once in their lifetime and then begin to die, but normally not before producing several pups - small clones of the parent plant - around the central flowering rosette on stolons.
Cultivation
Neoregelia bromeliads and their hybrids, due to their varied forms and beautiful colors, are commonly cultivated as houseplants, or in warm climates as landscape plants. They are particularly suitable for vivarium culture. Their needs are simple, mainly consisting of bright light (most forms will revert to green if lighting is sub-optimal) and an airy growing medium - some species do not do well in soil and will be prone to rot due to their nature as epiphytes.
In temperateness regions where temperatures fall below , they must be grown under glass or as houseplants.
Symbiosis
Neoregelias are utilized by many species of poison dart frog to reproduce. The frogs raise their tadpoles in the security of the water-filled cup in the bromeliads' rosettes, allowing them to stay in the relative safety of the treetops and not have to venture to a pool on the ground where predators are likely much more numerous. Waste products from the frogs and their offspring, once deposited into the cup, are utilized by the plant for nourishment.
Subgenera
, the Encyclopaedia of Bromeliads recognized three subgenera:
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N. subg. Longipetalopsis Leme
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N. subg. Neoregelia
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N. subg. Protoregelia W.Till & Leme
A former subgenus, N. subg. Hylaeaicum, was elevated to the genus Hylaeaicum in 2021.
Species
, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:
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Neoregelia abendrothae L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia altocaririensis Leme & L.Kollmann
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Neoregelia alvimii Roeth
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Neoregelia amandae W.Weber
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Neoregelia ampullacea (É.Morren) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia angustibracteolata E.Pereira & Leme
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Neoregelia angustifolia E.Pereira
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Neoregelia atroviridifolia W.Weber & Roeth
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Neoregelia azevedoi Leme
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Neoregelia bahiana (Ule) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia binotii (É.Morren) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia bragarum (E.Pereira & L.B.Sm.) Leme
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Neoregelia brevifolia L.B.Sm. & Reitz
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Neoregelia brigadeirensis C.C.Paula & Leme
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Neoregelia brownii Leme
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Neoregelia burlemarxii Read (also spelt Neoregelia burle-marxii)
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Neoregelia camorimiana E.Pereira & I.A.Penna
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Neoregelia capixaba E.Pereira & Leme
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Neoregelia carcharodon (Jacob-Makoy ex Wittm.) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia carinata Leme
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Neoregelia carolinae (Beer) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia cathcartii C.F.Reed & Read
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Neoregelia chlorosticta (É.Morren) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia coimbrae E.Pereira & Leme
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Neoregelia compacta (Mez) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia concentrica (Vell.) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia coriacea (Antoine) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia correia-araujoi E.Pereira & I.A.Penna
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Neoregelia crispata Leme
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Neoregelia cruenta (Graham) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia cyanea (Beer) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia dactyloflammans Leme & L.Kollmann
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Neoregelia dayvidiana Leme & A.P.Fontana
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Neoregelia desenganensis Leme
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Neoregelia diversifolia E.Pereira
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Neoregelia doeringiana L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia dungsiana E.Pereira
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Neoregelia eltoniana W.Weber
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Neoregelia farinosa (Ule) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia fluminensis L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia fosteriana L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia gavionensis Martinelli & Leme
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Neoregelia gigas Leme & L.Kollmann
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Neoregelia guttata Leme
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Neoregelia hoehneana L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia ibitipocensis (Leme) Leme
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Neoregelia ilhana Leme
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Neoregelia indecora (Mez) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia inexspectata Leme
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Neoregelia insulana Leme
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Neoregelia johannis (Carrière) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia johnsoniae H.Luther
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Neoregelia kautskyi E.Pereira
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Neoregelia kerryi Leme (also spelt Neoregelia kerryae)
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Neoregelia kuhlmannii L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia lactea H.Luther & Leme
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Neoregelia laevis (Mez) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia leprosa L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia leucophoea (Baker) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia lilliputiana E.Pereira
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Neoregelia lillyae W.Weber
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Neoregelia longipedicellata Leme
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Neoregelia longisepala E.Pereira & I.A.Penna
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Neoregelia lymaniana R.Braga & Sucre
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Neoregelia macahensis (Ule) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia macrosepala L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia maculata L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia magdalenae L.B.Sm. & Reitz
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Neoregelia marmorata (Baker) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia martinellii W.Weber
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Neoregelia mcwilliamsii L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia melanodonta L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia menescalii Leme
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Neoregelia mucugensis Leme
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Neoregelia nevaresii Leme & H.Luther
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Neoregelia nivea Leme
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Neoregelia odorata Leme
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Neoregelia olens (Hook.f.) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia oligantha L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia paratiensis Leme
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Neoregelia pascoaliana L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia pauciflora L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia paulistana E.Pereira
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Neoregelia pernambucana Leme & J.A.Siqueira
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Neoregelia petropolitana Leme
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Neoregelia pineliana (Lem.) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia pontualii Leme
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Neoregelia princeps (Baker) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia punctatissima (Ruschi) Ruschi
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Neoregelia retrorsa Leme & L.Kollmann
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Neoregelia richteri W.Weber
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Neoregelia roethii W.Weber
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Neoregelia rothinessa Leme, H.Luther & W.Till
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Neoregelia rubrifolia Ruschi
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Neoregelia rubrovittata Leme
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Neoregelia ruschii Leme & B.R.Silva
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Neoregelia sanguinea Leme
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Neoregelia sapiatibensis E.Pereira & I.A.Penna
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Neoregelia sarmentosa (Regel) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia schubertii Roeth
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Neoregelia seideliana L.B.Sm. & Reitz
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Neoregelia silvimontana Leme & J.A.Siqueira
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Neoregelia simulans L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia smithii W.Weber
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Neoregelia spectabilis (Antoine) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia spiralipetala (Leme) Wand. & S.E.Martins
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Neoregelia tenebrosa Leme
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Neoregelia tigrina (Ruschi) Ruschi
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Neoregelia tristis (Beer) L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia uleana L.B.Sm.
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Neoregelia viridolineata Leme
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Neoregelia viridovinosa Leme & L.Kollmann
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Neoregelia watersiana Leme
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Neoregelia wilsoniana M.B.Foster
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Neoregelia zaslawskyi E.Pereira & Leme
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Neoregelia zonata L.B.Sm.
Former species
Species transferred to
Hylaeaicum include:
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Neoregelia eleutheropetala → Hylaeaicum eleutheropetalum (Ule) Leme & Forzza
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Neoregelia leviana → Hylaeaicum levianum (L.B.Sm.) Leme & Forzza
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Neoregelia margaretae → Hylaeaicum margaretae (L.B.Sm.) Leme & Forzza
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Neoregelia mooreana → Hylaeaicum mooreanum (L.B.Sm.) Leme, Zizka & Aguirre-Santoro
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Neoregelia myrmecophila → Hylaeaicum myrmecophilum (Ule) Leme & Forzza
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Neoregelia pendula → Hylaeaicum pendulum (L.B.Sm.) Leme, Zizka & Aguirre-Santoro
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Neoregelia rosea → Hylaeaicum roseum (L.B.Sm.) Leme, Zizka & Aguirre-Santoro
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Neoregelia stolonifera → Hylaeaicum stoloniferum (L.B.Sm.) Leme, Zizka & Aguirre-Santoro
Gallery
Image:Neoregelia 'Perfection' Plant 3008px.jpg| Neoregelia 'Perfection' plant
Image:Neoregelia 'Perfection' Closeup 3008px.jpg| Neoregelia 'Perfection' closeup
Image:Bromeliaceae-Neoregelia-US_Botanic_Garden.JPG|Photo of a Neoregelia at the United States Botanic Garden.
Image:Neoregelia 'Yellow Devil' 20090623.jpg| Neoregelia 'Yellow Devil' flower emerging from submerged inflorescence.
External links
