Pitcairnia karwinskyana belongs to the Bromeliaceae family, one of the sixteen plant families part of Poales class.
Family: Bromeliaceae Sixteen plant families are currently recognized by botanists to be part of Poales. The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) is a family of monocot flowering plants of 75 genera and around 3590 known species native mainly to the tropical Americas, with a few species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, Pitcairnia feliciana. The Poales are a large order of flowering plants in the monocotyledons, and includes families of plants such as the grasses, bromeliads, and sedges. 
