Bromelia pinguin

Bromelia pinguin is a plant species in the genus Bromelia. This species is native to Central America, Mexico, the West Indies and northern South America.^[2] It is also reportedly naturalized in Florida.^[2] It is very common in Jamaica, where it is planted as a fence around pasture lands, on account of its prickly leaves. The plant can be stripped of its pulp, soaked in water, and beaten with a wooden mallet, and it yields a fiber whence thread is made. In Nicaragua and El Salvador it is used to make gruel.^[3][4]

Bromelia pinguin (Piñuela) in El Crucero, Managua, Nicaragua.

Bromelia pinguin flower in El Crucero, Managua, Nicaragua

Bromelia pinguin
1821 illustration[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Bromeliaceae
Genus:	Bromelia
Species:	B. pinguin
Binomial name
Bromelia pinguin L.
Synonyms[2]
Karatas pinguin (L.) Mill. Ananas pinguin (L.) Gaertn. Agallostachys pinguin (L.) Beer Bromelia fastuosa Lindl. Bromelia sepiaria Schult. & Schult.f. Agallostachys fastuosa (Lindl.) Beer Bromelia ignea Beer