Bromelia pinguin
Species of flowering plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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, and has historically been used as an herbal abortifacient[3]. 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.[4][5]
_-_Collectanea_botanica_-_Lindley_pl._1_(1821).jpg)
| 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 | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
History
Bromelia pinguin is mentioned in the diaries of Thomas Thistlewood, an 18th century slave-owner and plantation owner living in Jamaica. Thistlewood notes his use of Bromelia pinguin as a natural fence. Additionally, there is evidence that enslaved women on Thistlewood's plantations used Bromelia pinguin as an herbal abortifacient to terminate pregnancies caused by Thistlewood's sexual assaults.[6]
