Bromeliaceae

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/bromeliaceae

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Bromeliaceae. A family of flowering plants
2. What is the native range?The Americas, from the southern United States to Patagonia
3. What are bromeliads and where do they grow?Bromeliads are colorful plants that can live on trees and hold water in their leaves. They grow all over the Americas, from Florida and Mexico to Patagonia, in deserts, forests, and cloud forests.
4. How do bromeliads get water and nutrients when they live on trees?Their leaves have special scales called trichomes that soak up moisture and nutrients from the air. They also collect rainwater in leaf “tanks” that act like tiny reservoirs.

Phytotelmata: Water-filled cavities formed by plant structures, serving as miniature aquatic ecosystems.
CAM Photosynthesis: A metabolic pathway allowing plants to fix carbon dioxide at night to conserve water.
Trichomes: Epidermal outgrowths on plants, which in bromeliads often function in water and nutrient absorption.