Catopsis Griseb. is an epiphytic genus in the subfamily Tillandsioideae. The center of diversity for the genus is Mexico, albeit, the genus can be found in the Caribbean, Central America, and the Brazilian shield of South America. Catopsis is one of the few bromeliad lineages that have dioecious species; only noted elsewhere in the family in Hechtia Klotzsch (Hechtioideae), the monotypic Androlepis skinneri (K.Koch) Brongn. ex Houllet (Bromelioideae) and Aechmea mariae-reginae H.Wendl. (Bromelioideae). Interestingly, the center for diversity for Hechtia is also in Mexico, and the two Bromelioideae species are found in Central America (Benzing, 2000). Little is known, however, as dioecious bromeliads have been mostly neglected in studies of genetic diversity and reproductive biology, other than the few cited studies (Ramírez-Morillo et al., 2005, Cascante-Marín et al., 2020).

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    <img src="img/catopsis_berteroniana.jpg" alt="example image" class="img-fluid rounded z-depth-1">
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    <img src="img/catopsis_nutans.jpeg" alt="example image" class="img-fluid rounded z-depth-1">
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    <img src="img/catopsis_sessiflora.jpeg" alt="example image" class="img-fluid rounded z-depth-1">
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Left <i>Catopsis berteroniana</i> (Schult. & Schult.f.) Mez (c) Don Filipiak. <i>Catopsis nutans</i> (Swartz) Grisebach (c) Joseph S. Vega C. <i>Catopsis sessiliflora</i> (Ruiz & Pavón) Mez (c) Apipa

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    <img src="img/catopsis_distribution.png" alt="Catopsis distribution" class="img-fluid rounded z-depth-1">
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_Catopsis_ distribution from cleaned GBIF records accessed June 2024

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    <img src="img/morreianna.jpeg" alt="example image" class="img-fluid rounded z-depth-1">
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    <img src="img/happy_catopsis.jpeg" alt="example image" class="img-fluid rounded z-depth-1">
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You can find <i>Catopsis morreniana</i> and <i>Catopsis nutans</i> in the [Liberty Hyde Bailey Conservatory](https://conservatory.cals.cornell.edu/).