This subfamily is characterized mainly by plants that have water pounding rosettes, with spiny leaves. Often growing epiphytic but there are also many terrestrials.

The leaves are mostly spinose-serrate and covered by well developed obvious scales (mostly functioning for water uptake). The mature seeds are unappendaged and produced in baccate fuit. The ovary is inferior or nearly so. The following genera are included in this subfamily. The number between brackets are indicating the number of species within the genus following Smith & Downs 1979 (many species has been described since and some genus boundaries has changed too): Fernseea(1), Ronnbergia(8), Araeococcus(5), Streptocalyx(14), Androlepis(1), Ochagavia(3), Neoregelia(71), Cryptanthus(20), Nidularium(23), Greigia(26), Andrea(1), Bromelia(47), Hohenbergiopsis(1), Acanthostachys(1), Orthopytum(17), Fascicularia(5), Canistrum(7), Wittrockia(7), Hohenbergia(40), Disteganthus(2), Aechmea(172), Quesnelia(14), Billbergia(53), Neoglaviovia(43), Portea(7), Pseudananas(1), Ananas(8).