''Puya'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of the

botanical Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

. It is the sole genus of the subfamily Puyoideae, and is composed of 226 species. These

terrestrial plant A terrestrial plant is a plant that grows on, in, or from land. Other types of plants are aquatic (living in water), epiphytic (living on trees) and lithophytic (living in or on rocks). The distinction between aquatic and terrestrial plants i ...

s are native to the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

Mountains of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

and southern

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. Many of the species are

monocarpic Monocarpic plants are those that flower and set seeds only once, and then die. The term is derived from Greek (''mono'', "single" + ''karpos'', "fruit" or "grain"), and was first used by Alphonse de Candolle. Other terms with the same meaning ar ...

, with the parent plant dying after one flower and seed production event. The species ''

Puya raimondii ''Puya raimondii'', also known as queen of the Andes (English), titanka (Quechua) or puya de Raimondi (Spanish), is the largest species of bromeliad, its inflorescences reaching up to in height. It is native to the high Andes of Bolivia and Per ...

'' is notable as the largest species of bromeliad known, reaching 3 m tall in vegetative growth with a

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

spike 9–10 m tall. The other species are also large, with the flower spikes mostly reaching 1–4 m tall. The name ''Puya'' was derived from the Mapuche Indian word meaning "point". The genus is commonly divided into two subgenera, ''Puya'', containing eight species, and ''Puyopsis'' containing the remainder. The subgenera can be distinguished by the presence of a sterile

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are forme ...

at the branch apex in ''Puya'', which are fertile in ''Puyopsis''.

Species

Cultivation and use

Some species of ''Puya'' in Chile, locally known as ''chagual'', are used to make salads from the base of its young leaves or stem. A common species is ''

Puya chilensis ''Puya chilensis'' is a terrestrial bromeliad originating from the arid hillsides of Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the cl ...

''.

References

External links

''Puya raimondii'' photos
* Pictures o

an

growing in Chile.
BSI Genera Gallery
photos {{Taxonbar, from1=Q133814, from2=Q3926039 Bromeliaceae genera Páramo flora