Herself's Houseplants

. . .Bromeliads are members of the plant family Bromeliaceae, containing more than 3,000 described species. The most well known bromeliad is one that you may find in your fruit salad – the pineapple. But this family includes others that look nothing like that fruit, such as Spanish moss (which incidentally is neither Spanish nor a moss).The more common bromeliads are terrestrial species, which means they are found growing in the ground, which is typical of most of our garden plants. . . .

Saxicolous species grow on rocks. . . .

The third species is epiphytic. These are found growing on other plants, usually trees, shrubs or cactus, but sometimes they can be found on telephone poles or even on the telephone lines themselves. This capability to take their nutrition and moisture from the atmosphere has earned these bromeliads the name air plants.”

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This spiral arrangement ( of leaves ) causes the plant to grow in a flattened configuration with its leaves lined up in a single plane. In many, if not most, of the bromeliads the bases of the leaves overlap to form a water reservoir. Those with this central cup are often called tank bromeliads. They rely less heavily on their roots for nourishment than others. This tank is used to hold water and nutrients used by the plant.

. . . Bromeliads both beautiful, easy to grow

Consider these fascinating succulent facts:* All cactuses are succulents, but not all succulents are cactuses.
* Most succulents have no leaves, only plump water-storing stems in various shapes and sizes. Leaves and branches are expressed in some succulents as spines – such as you find in cactuses.
* Spines or thorns protect cactuses from predators.
* Hairy succulents collect water by trapping dew.
* Agaves collect water by channeling it from their outstretched stems to the base.
* Barrel cactuses, with their pleated shapes, expand and contract depending on how much water they have stored.
* Waxy coatings on many succulent surfaces prevent the release of water back into the atmosphere.
* Many desert-adapted cactuses spread their roots wide just below the soil surface to catch and keep every raindrop that comes their way.
* The smaller a succulent is, the higher in elevation is its native habitat. You can find some sedums in alpine areas.
* Century plant is a misnomer. These plants actually bloom every 10 years or so.
is exposed to the sun.

More information:
Succulents | succulents, water, cactuses, desert cactus