1. Spelling: Do not be too worried about spelling, especially the use of hyphens or endings to words. Harry Luther likes to ‘correct’ these misspellings in his Binomial lists whereas the International Plant Names Index (IPNI) bases the spelling on the original publication. This list is somewhere in between!!

2. This list contains all names officially recorded for Bromeliaceae with some names used before the introduction of binomials and thus goes back pre-Linnaeus. First we must remember that such a list is never up to date because of :
- You never know where the next publication of a new species or proposed synonymy will be.
- While new species are accepted if described according to the ICBN rules, synonymy is only a taxonomic judgement and may not be generally accepted. Where opinion on synonymity differs between taxonomists this is shown when known.
- This DOES follow J G Grant, Phytologia 75(2): 170-175. 1993 and subsequent publications, in transferring the ‘Colombian’ Vriesea to Tillandsia.
- This follows Taylor & Robinson Harvard Papers in Botany 4(1): 203-217.1999 in treating Pepinia as part of the genus Pitcairnia.
- This does NOT include the genus Viridantha as proposed by Espejo in 2002.
- This includes the rationalisation of Billbergia pyramidalis by Butcher in J Brom Soc 52: 172-8. 2002
- Despite Chevaliera being resurrected to genus status in Bromeliaceae of Ecuador – Bromelioideae 2002 this treats it as a subgenus of Aechmea
- This follows Coppens and Leal in The Pineapple, Bot Prod and uses. CAB Int.2: 13-32. 2003 for the genus Ananas.
- Selbyana 25(1): 33-86. 2004. CHECKLIST OF MEXICAN BROMELIACEAE WITH NOTES ON SPECIES DISTRIBUTION AND LEVELS OF ENDEMISM by Adolfo Espejo-Serna & Ana Rosa Lopez-Ferrari, Ivon Ramirez-Morillo, Bruce K. Holst & Harry E. Luther, and Walter Till.
Despite the list of co-authors this does not mean they concurred in the plants placed under synonymy. Ones that have had some sort of agreement as to synonymy have been included. Others have been noted in the species data base on fcbs.
- This does not follow the reversals in genera in Nidularioid in Flora Fanerogamica do Estado de Sao Paulo 2007 in contradiction to Leme’s work, because it only deals with species found in Sao Paulo State.

3. The type species is shown as one word even where there are varieties or forms. Strictly speaking they should be shown as the species name with the same name used again as the variety. Example Aechmea nudicaulis instead of Aechmea nudicaulis var. nudicaulis

4. Natural hybrids are shown on a separate data base on www.fcbs.org - Nat.Hybrids.

5. Plant names (in 1st column) that are RED are the current accepted name. The name of the author/s follow in black. More detail on these names can be obtained from the species data base on www.fcbs.org - species.

6. The few names that have the authors name immediately next to them in blue, show that duplicate names did apply in the past.

7. Synonyms are shown without the author’s name but shown with an => sign. The name after the => sign MAY be the current name if only one attempt at synonymy has been made in the past. All you do is check this name against the names on the left, following through until you find one (in red) with an author’s name. Some have quite a history of changes!

8. Authors in brackets.
Acanthostachys pitcairnioides (Mez) Rauh & Barthlott
This is a recognised shorthand way of saying that this plant was first described by Mez (as an Aechmea) but moved to Acanthostachys by Rauh & Barthlott.

If you find any errors or misleading detail please contact the author. It is interesting in the number of errors in the Flora Neotropica (1974 – 1979) indices in the 3 volumes and the movement out of synonymy since these great references were published!

To search for any word in this list, click on the page, then press Ctrl-F.

Derek Butcher
25 Crace Road.
Fulham 5024 South Australia
Or tillands@senet.com.au