FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS. 43 
of showy colors, and the inflorescence is rendered more conspicuous by 
the large and often brilliant floral bracts. Tillandsia is by far the 
largest genus, and the only one represented in the United States, al- 
though the long moss ( 77/andsia usneoides) is sometimes considered, 
and with good reason, the type of a distinct genus. All the Tilland- 
sias are epiphytic. 
Besides the pineapple (Ananas Ananas) which is important as an 
article of diet, this family supplies several important fibre plants. 
Travellers to Porto Rico will probably observe the pinguin (Bromelia 
Pinguin) which is commonly used as a hedge plant, and yields a juice 
locally employed in medicine. Many other genera are in greenhouse 
cultivation as ornamental foliage plants. : 
Fig. 39.—Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) growing on live oak at Tampa, Florida. After 
photograph by Mr. G. N. Collins. 
