Pitcairnia is a genus of plants in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Pitcairnioideae. It was named after William Pitcairn, Scottish physician and gardener (1711–1791). Pitcairnia ranks as the second most species-rich genus in the family Bromeliaceae, after Tillandsia. They are most abundant in Colombia, Peru and Brazil, but can also be found in areas from Cuba and Mexico south to Argentina. One species, Pitcairnia feliciana, is found in tropical West Africa, and is the only member of the family Bromeliaceae not native to the Americas.
Almost all Pitcairnias are terrestrial or saxicolous, and prefer moist areas. However, many are found growing epiphytically in trees.
Taxonomy
Pitcairnia was established as a genus by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1788. In 1870, Pepinia was established as a genus by Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart in a publication by Édouard André. Pepinia was reduced to a subgenus of Pitcairnia in 1881 by John Gilbert Baker, but elevated again to a genus in 1988, largely on the basis of the morphology of its seeds. The use of morphological characters to differentiate Pepinia from Pitcairnia was rejected in 1999; a view confirmed later by multiple molecular studies.
As of November 2022, Plants of the World Online accepted 407 species, including those formerly placed in the genus Pepinia, now treated as Pitcairnia subgenus Pepinia.
Pitcairnia abundans L.B.Sm. – Oaxaca, Nayarit
Pitcairnia abyssicola Leme & L.Kollmann – Espírito Santo
Pitcairnia acicularis L.B.Sm. – Lambayeque
Pitcairnia adscendens L.B.Sm. – Valle del Cauca
Pitcairnia aequatorialis L.B.Sm. – Ecuador
Pitcairnia agavifolia L.B.Sm., syn. Pepinia agavifolia (L.B.Sm.) G.S.Varad. & Gilmartin – State of Amazonas in Venezuela
Pitcairnia alata L.B.Sm. – Ecuador
Pitcairnia albiflos Herb. – Rio de Janeiro
Pitcairnia albifolia Cáceres Gonz. & A.Ibáñez
Pitcairnia albolutea J.R.Grant – Venezuela
Pitcairnia alborubra Baker, syn. Pepinia...
