In Bromeliaceae, fruit type and seed morphology have been used to distinguish the subfamilies. We studied seed and fruit development of three species of Bromelioideae (Aechmea bromeliifolia, Billbergia distachia and Neoregelia bahiana) relating seed characters to fruit structure. Aechmea bromeliifolia has few ovules per locule inserted within the apical portion of the ovary and the seeds are larger, with a long chalazal appendage, growing towards the fruit base. In B. distachia and N. bahiana, the ovules are numerous and subapically to centrally inserted in the ovary; the seeds are smaller, with a radial disposition, and the chalazal appendages are short (B. distachia) or absent (N. bahiana). The chalazal appendages grow during seed development, and thus their presence/length may be related to the number of ovules/seeds per locule and to the disposition of the ovules inside the locules. The fruits are berries, and juiciness is promoted by mesocarp cells and by substances secreted inside the locules by the placental obturator at later stages of fruit development. These fruit and seed features are strategies for zoochory and provide evidence that each species studied is dispersed by a different type of animal.

中文翻译：

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肉质果凤梨科的种子发育及其与果实结构的关系

在凤梨科，果实类型和种子形态已被用来区分亚科。我们研究了三种凤梨科（凤梨（Aechmea bromeliifolia），Billbergia distachia和Neoregelia bahiana）的种子和果实发育，这些种子与种子的结构特征相关。细叶无花果每个子房的胚珠很少插入子房的顶端，种子较大，有长的cha舌附属物，向着果实基部生长。在B. distachia和N. bahiana中，胚珠数量很多，并在心尖近中插入子房。种子较小，呈放射状排列，而茎附件短（B. distachia）或不存在（N. bahiana）。脉管附件在种子发育过程中生长，因此它们的存在/长度可能与每个胚珠的胚珠/种子的数量以及胚珠在胚珠内部的位置有关。果实为浆果，中果皮细胞和胎盘闭孔器在房果内部分泌的物质在果实发育的后期促进多汁。这些果实和种子特征是动物选择的策略，并提供证据表明所研究的每个物种都被不同类型的动物分散。