Vriesea is a genus of flowering plants in the botanical family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Tillandsioideae. The genus is named after the Dutch botanist and physician Willem Hendrik de Vriese (1806–1862). Its species are widespread over Mexico, Central America, South America and the West Indies.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
The genus includes many "tank bromeliads", which store water in a reservoir (a "tank") formed by their tightly overlapping leaf bases. Containing some of the largest bromeliad species, these tropical plants hold a wide variety of insect fauna. In the wild, some frog species go through their whole life cycle in these bromeliad tanks. This genus is closely related to Guzmania. Both Guzmania and Vriesea have dry capsules that split open to release parachute like seeds similar to dandelions (Taraxacum sp.). Most Vriesea are epiphytes and grow on trees. Their roots function mainly as holdfasts with a more minor role in nutrient uptake. Nutrients are predominantly absorbed from the reservoirs made by the rosette of leaves.
Species , Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:
Vriesea agostiniana E.Pereira – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea alta (Baker) É.Morren ex Mez – Panama Vriesea altimontana E.Pereira & Martinelli – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea altodaserrae L.B.Sm. – from Rio de Janeiro to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea altomacaensis A.Costa – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea altomayoensis H.Luther & K.F.Norton – Peru Vriesea amethystina É.Morren – Espírito Santo + Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea andaraiensis Leme – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea andreettae Rauh – Azuay Province of Ecuador Vriesea appendiculata (L.B.Sm.) L.B.Sm. – Loja Province of Ecuador Vriesea arachnoidea A.Costa – Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea arpocalyx (André) L.B.Sm. – Ecuador Vriesea atra Mez – from Bahia to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea atrococcinea Rauh – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea atropurpurea Silveira – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea aureoramosa F.P.Uribbe & A.F.Costa – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea bahiana Leme – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea barbosae J.A.Siqueira & Leme – Pernambuco (Brazil) Vriesea barilletii É.Morren – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea baturitensis Versieux & Tomaz – Ceará (Brazil) Vriesea biguassuensis Reitz – Santa Catarina in southern Brazil Vriesea billbergioides É.Morren ex Mez – São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea bituminosa Wawra – Venezuela, eastern Brazil Vriesea blackburniana Leme – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea bleheri Roeth & W.Weber – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea boeghii H.Luther – Loja Province of Ecuador Vriesea breviscapa (E.Pereira & I.A.Penna) Leme – Bahia, Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea × brueggemannii J.Z.Matos, M.B.Crespo & Juan Vriesea brusquensis Reitz – from São Paulo to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea cacuminis L.B.Sm. – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea calimaniana Leme & W.Till – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea capixabae Leme – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea carinata Wawra – eastern + southern Brazil Vriesea carmeniae R.L.Moura & A.F.Costa – Ceará (Brasil) Vriesea castaneobulbosa (Mez & Wercklé) J.R.Grant – Costa Rica Vriesea cathcartii H.Luther – Ecuador Vriesea cearensis L.B.Sm. – Ceará (Brazil) Vriesea cereicola (Mez) L.B.Sm. – Peru Vriesea chapadensis Leme – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea cipoensis O.B.C.Ribeiro, C.C.Paula & Guarçoni – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea claudiana Leme, Trind.-Lima & O.B.C.Ribeiro – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea clausseniana (Baker) Mez – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea colnagoi E.Pereira & I.A.Penna – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea confusa L.B.Sm. – Nariño region of Colombia Vriesea corcovadensis (Britton) Mez – from Bahia to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea correia-arauji E.Pereira & I.A.Penna – Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (Brazil) Vriesea crassa Mez – Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea curvispica Rauh – Peru Vriesea cylindrica L.B.Sm. – Peru, Ecuador, Colombia Vriesea debilis Leme – Espírito Santo Vriesea declinata Leme – Santa Catarina in southern Brazil Vriesea delicatula L.B.Sm. – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea densiflora Mez – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea diamantinensis Leme – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea dictyographa Leme – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea dissitiflora (C.Wright) Mez – Cuba Vriesea drepanocarpa (Baker) Mez – from Bahia to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea drewii L.B.Sm. – Ecuador Vriesea dubia (L.B.Sm.) L.B.Sm. – Colombia, Peru, Ecuador Vriesea duidae (L.B.Sm.) Gouda – Guyana, Venezuela Vriesea duvaliana É.Morren – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea elata (Baker) L.B.Sm. – Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador Vriesea eltoniana E.Pereira & Ivo – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea ensiformis (Vell.) Beer, including Vriesea warmingii – from Bahia to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea erythrodactylon (É.Morren) É.Morren ex Mez – from Espírito Santo to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea exaltata Leme – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea fenestralis Linden & André – Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea fibrosa L.B.Sm. – Amazonas State in Venezuela Vriesea fidelensis Leme – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea flammea L.B.Sm. – northeastern, southeastern and southern Brazil Vriesea flava And.Costa, H.Luther & Wand. – from São Paulo to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea fluminensis E.Pereira – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea fluviatilis Kessous & A.F.Costa – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea fontanae Fraga & Leme – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea fontourae B.R.Silva – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea fosteriana L.B.Sm. – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea fradensis And.Costa – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea freicanecana J.A.Siqueira & Leme – Pernambuco (Brazil) Vriesea friburgensis Mez – Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay Vriesea garlippiana Leme – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea gelatinosa R.L.Moura & A.F.Costa Vriesea gigantea Gaudich. – from Bahia to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea gladioflammans E.Pereira & Reitz – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea gracilior (L.B.Sm.) Leme – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea graciliscapa W.Weber – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea gradata (Baker) Mez – southeastern Brazil Vriesea grandiflora Leme – Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea guttata Linden & André – southern Brazil Vriesea harmsiana (L.B.Sm.) L.B.Sm. – Peru Vriesea heterostachys (Baker) L.B.Sm. – southern Brazil Vriesea hieroglyphica (Carrière) É.Morren – from Espírito Santo to Paraná (Brazil) Vriesea hitchcockiana (L.B.Sm.) L.B.Sm. – Ecuador, Peru Vriesea hodgei L.B.Sm. – Colombia Vriesea hoehneana L.B.Sm. – southern Brazil Vriesea hydrophora Ule – southern Brazil Vriesea incurva (Griseb.) Read – Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Ecuador, Bolivia Vriesea incurvata Gaudich. – southern Brazil Vriesea inflata (Wawra) Wawra – from Espírito Santo to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea interrogatoria L.B.Sm. – from Minas Gerais to São Paulo (Brazil) Vriesea itatiaiae Wawra – southern Brazil Vriesea johnstonii (Mez) L.B.Sm. & Pittendr. – Trinidad, Venezuela, Guyana Vriesea jonesiana Leme – São Paulo (Brazil) Vriesea jonghei (K.Koch) É.Morren – Trinidad & Tobago, French Guiana, Brazil Vriesea joyae E.Pereira & I.A.Penna – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea kautskyana E.Pereira & I.A.Penna – Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea koideae Rauh – Peru Vriesea lancifolia (Baker) L.B.Sm. – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea languida L.B.Sm. – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea laxa Mez – Venezuela Vriesea leptantha Harms – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea lidicensis Reitz – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea lilliputiana Leme – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea limae L.B.Sm. – Pernambuco (Brazil) Vriesea limonensis Rauh – Ecuador Vriesea linharesiae Leme & J.A.Siqueira – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea longicaulis (Baker) Mez – from Bahia to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea longiscapa Ule – southern Brazil Vriesea longisepala A.F.Costa – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea longistaminea C.C.Paula & Leme – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea lubbersii (Baker) É.Morren ex Mez – from Espírito Santo to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea lutheriana J.R.Grant – Costa Rica Vriesea macrostachya (Bello) Mez – Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Trinidad; Carabobo State in Venezuela Vriesea maculosa Mez – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea magna F.P.Uribbe & A.F.Costa Vriesea maguirei L.B.Sm. – Venezuela, northern Brazil Vriesea marceloi Versieux & T.Machado – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea maxoniana (L.B.Sm.) L.B.Sm. – Bolivia and Salta Province of Argentina Vriesea medusa Versieux – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea melgueiroi I.Ramírez & Carnevali Amazonas State (Venezuela) Vriesea menescalii E.Pereira & Leme – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea michaelii W.Weber – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); probably extinct Vriesea microrachis J.Gomes-da-Silva & A.F.Costa – São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea mimosoensis D.R.Couto, Kessous & A.F.Costa – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea minarum L.B.Sm. – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea minor (L.B.Sm.) Leme – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea minuta Leme – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea minutiflora Leme – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea mitoura L.B.Sm. – Amazonas State of Venezuela; Roraima Vriesea modesta Mez – Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea mollis Leme – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea monacorum L.B.Sm. – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea morrenii Wawra (also spelt Vriesea morreni) – Espírito Santo to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea × morreniana É.Morren Vriesea mourae Kessous, B.Neves & A.F.Costa – São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea muelleri Mez – from São Paulo to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea myriantha (Baker) Betancur (syn. Tillandsia myriantha) Vriesea nanuzae Leme – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea neoglutinosa Mez – from Bahia to Santa Catarina (Brazil) Vriesea noblickii Martinelli & Leme – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea nubicola Leme – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea oligantha (Baker) Mez – Bahia and Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea olmosana L.B.Sm. – Ecuador, Peru Vriesea organensis Kessous & A.F. Costa – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea oxapampae Rauh – Pasco Province of Peru Vriesea pabstii McWill. & L.B.Sm. – Espírito Santo, São Paulo (Brazil) Vriesea paradoxa Mez – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea paraibica Wawra – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea paratiensis E.Pereira – from Rio de Janeiro to Paraná (Brazil) Vriesea pardalina Mez – southern Brazil Vriesea parviflora L.B.Sm. – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea parvula Rauh – São Paulo (Brazil) Vriesea pastuchoffiana Glaz. ex Mez – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea patula (Mez) L.B.Sm. – Ecuador, Peru Vriesea pauciflora Mez – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea pauperrima E.Pereira – northeastern, southeastern and southern Brazil Vriesea penduliflora L.B.Sm. – Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea penduliscapa Rauh – Moreno-Santiago region of Ecuador Vriesea pereirae L.B.Sm. – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea pereziana (André) L.B.Sm. – Colombia, Peru Vriesea petraea (L.B.Sm.) L.B.Sm. – El Oro province of Ecuador Vriesea philippocoburgi Wawra – from Rio de Janeiro to Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) Vriesea pinottii Reitz – southern Brazil Vriesea piscatrix Versieux & Wand. – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea platynema Gaudich. – Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad, Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil, Misiones Provindce of Argentina Vriesea platzmannii É.Morren – southern Brazil Vriesea pleiosticha (Griseb.) Gouda (synonym Mezobromelia pleiosticha) – Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad, Venezuela, the Guianas, Peru, Ecuador, northern Brazil Vriesea poenulata (Baker) É.Morren ex Mez – Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea portentosa Leme – Minas Gerais (Brazil) Vriesea procera (Mart. ex Schult. & Schult.f.) Wittm. – Trinidad, Venezuela, the Guianas, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina Vriesea pseudoatra Leme – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Vriesea pseudoligantha Philcox – Bahia (Brazil) Vriesea psittacina (Hook.) Lindl. – Brazil, Paraguay Vriesea pulchra Leme & L.Kollmann – Espírito Santo (Brazil) Vriesea punctulata E.Pereira & I.A.Penna – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)