Bromeliads
are the bright-flowered spiky-leafed plants one sees growing in the
trees. Most bromeliads are epiphytes (air plants) but some are
terrestrial. Costa Rica has more than 2,000 different species of
bromeliads, the richest deposit of such in Central America. Most of
Costa Rica’s bromeliads are found in the rain forests and
higher-altitude cloud forests.
 In Costa
Rica, the Tillandsioideae subfamily of the Bromeliaceae family
is the most abundant. Within this group, many of the Vriesia species
are
endemic to this area, found exclusively in the Cordillera de Talamanca.
Epiphytic bromeliads
are not parasites — they must find their own food and water without
relying on the tree. Many bromeliad leaf surfaces are covered with
small, flat scales attached in the center. These scales absorb humidity
form the air. In
bromeliads of moist forests — such as those of the Talamanca cloud
forest — it is common to find a pool of water in the base of the plant.
This provides a fertile reproductive environment for insects such as
mosquitoes, and for tiny frogs.
Plant material and
drowned non-aquatic insects in turn provide nutrients for the host
plant. Decomposition
by bacteria and fungi breaks down these materials to simpler ones which
can be absorbed by the plant.
For further reference, see: http://bromeliadbiota.ifas.ufl.edu/
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