These are evergreen plants mainly from Brazil. They have long, stiff leaves that resemble those of the Pineapple. They rise directly from the ground in a rosette. The flowers are in spikes and they grow from the centers of the rosettes in the winter and spring. Most kinds have conspicuous, brilliantly colored bracts under each flower, which is the main attraction to this plant. The different colored bracts are described below in varieties.

Billbergias need a minimum winter temperature of 55 degrees and a moderately humid atmosphere. They need a lot of water in the summer, but less in the winter. Repotting should be done in the spring and compost consisting of equal parts of peat, loam, and leaf mold with sand and crushed charcoal added abundantly should be used. They may also be potted in orchid peat (osmunda fiber) alone. The pots should be half-filled with drainage material.

Suckers, which are found at the base of the plants, may be detached in the spring and potted in the compost as previously described. Seeds can be sown as soon as they are ripe, in a mixture of peat moss and sand.

Billbergia nutans (pink, green and blue bracts);
Billbergia iridifolia (scarlet, yellow and crimson bracts);
Billbergia speciosa (carmine and violet bracts);
Billbergia Leopoldii (reddish-violet bracts);
Billbergia pyramidalis (pink, red and violet bracts);
Billbergia Saundersii (green and blue bracts).