A quick tour of bromeliads ... remember when I got that Monocotyledons book for like 90% off recently? Well, I did actually read some parts.
The word bromeliad refers to a family of rosette plants (Bromeliaceae) of borderline or zero succulence from the tropical and subtropical Americas (plus one species in tropical West Africa). There are 58 genera, ~3000 species in the family. So about the diversity of the cacti, or the Euphorbias.
The most important agriculturally may be the pineapple. Many bromeliads produce tubular flowers pollinated by hummingbirds.
There are 5 types of bromeliads in one recent overview (Benzring 2000):
1. Terrestrial (growing in soil or rock), roots take up water and nutrients. C3/CAM. Like most other plants.
2. Terrestrial, with weakly developed tanks, water uptake by roots and trichomes on leaf bases. CAM
3. Terrestrial (usually rock-dwelling) or epiphytic, with proper tanks. Roots provide mechanical support, nutrient uptake through leaves. CAM
4. Epiphytic, with proper tanks, roots for support, nutrient uptake through leaves. C3.
5. The air plants. Epiphytic (rarely terrestrial and then rock-dwelling), roots for support or absent, water and nutrient uptake through shoots and leaves, CAM.
Some bromeliads are from the rainforest, others are found in extremely arid, treeless areas. The xeric plants and air plants would be most compatible with the usual succulent lifestyle. Plants with tanks probably best suited to climates with regular rainfall.
The popular terrestrial bromeliads in cultivation (Dyckia, Deuterocohnia, Enchlolirium, Puya) are CAM-adapted, meaning they have the capacity to breathe at night and thus avoid losing water during the day. About half of all bromeliads (including all members of the Tillandsia subfamily) have this adaptation, which apparently arose independently at least 5 times.
It is hard to generalize but maybe this helps.
