''Puya raimondii'', also known as queen of the Andes (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

), titanka (

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

) or puya de Raimondi (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

), is the largest species of

bromeliad 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, ...

, its inflorescences reaching up to in height. It is native to the high

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 ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. It was once hypothesized to be a '' Protocarnivorous plant''.

Taxonomy

The first scientific description of this species was made in 1830 by the French scientist

Alcide d'Orbigny Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropol ...

after he encountered it in the region of

Vacas ''Vacas'' (English: ''Cows'') is a 1991 Spanish film, written and directed by Julio Médem. The film stars Carmelo Gómez, Emma Suárez, Ana Torrent, and Karra Elejalde. An eerie family saga set in rural Basque Country, the cryptic film follo ...

Cochabamba Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 630 ...

, in Bolivia at an altitude of . However, as the plants he saw were immature and not yet flowering, he could not classify them taxonomically. The

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

of ''raimondii'' commemorates the 19th-century Italian scientist

Antonio Raimondi Antonio Raimondi (September 19, 1826 – October 26, 1890) was a prominent Italian-born Peruvian geographer and scientist. Born in Milan, Raimondi emigrated to Peru, arriving on July 28, 1850, at the port of Callao. In 1851 he became a profe ...

, who immigrated to Peru and made extensive botanical expeditions there. He encountered this species in the region of Chavín de Huantar and published it as new to science under the name ''Pourretia gigantea'' in his 1874 book '' El Perú'' In 1928, the name was changed to ''Puya raimondii'' by the German botanist

Hermann Harms Hermann August Theodor Harms (16 July 1870 – 27 November 1942) was a German taxonomist and botanist. Harms was born in Berlin. He worked as a botanist at the Botanical Museum in Berlin. He was a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences ...

, as the combination ''Puya gigantea'' was already used for a Chilean species.

Description

The queen of the Andes is the largest species of

. Its trunk can be tall, with a rosette of about two hundred linear leaves, these up to long and about in width, the leaf spines reaching long. The

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 ...

can measure between tall. The whole plant may reach as much as tall. A single plant can produce between 8,000 Antonio Raimondi, EL PERU (Lima: Imprinta del Estado, 1875) Vol. 1 pp. 295-297. and 20,000 flowers in a 3-month period. Its reproductive cycle (and life) lasts approximately 80 years, though one individual planted near sea level at the

University of California Botanical Garden The University of California Botanical Garden is a 34-acre (13.7 ha) botanical garden located on the University of California, Berkeley campus, in Strawberry Canyon. The garden is in the Berkeley Hills, inside the city boundary of Oakland, with ...

, bloomed in August 1986 after only 28 years. It is semelparous, dying after first reproduction. The plant has been identified to form a close relationship with pollinating birds, and was even hypothesized to be a protocarnivorous plant due to its abilities to ensnare birds in the spiny fronds. However, the adaptations seen in ''

Puya Puya may refer to: * ''Puya'' (plant), in the family Bromeliaceae * Puya (river), in Russia * Puya, a variety of Guajillo chili * ''Puya'' (Meitei texts), traditional or mythological texts of the Meetei people * '' Culoepuya'' or ''Culo'e Puya'' ...

'' that lead to ensnarement of birds seems most likely to be instead a defense mechanism. File:Puya raimondii.jpg, Leaves File:PuyaRaimondi1.JPG, Plant File:Chukiqayara, Vacas 06.JPG, Inflorescence File:Puya raimondiii en quebrada Carpa.jpg, Inflorescence closeup File:Puya raimondii 4.jpg, Close-up of flower. File:Puya raimondii 8.jpg, Flower dissection File:Luigi Piacenza.jpg, with Italian botanist Luigi Piacenza

Distribution and habitat

''P. raimondii'' is native to the Andes of Bolivia and Peru, between of elevation on shrubby and rocky slopes. This species seem to be very specialist on site conditions as it prefers to grow in small areas even if the surrounding terrain may seem equally suitable, resulting in a patchy distribution of ''P. raimondii'' stands. Moreover, in spite of being a high altitude plant, it has thrived at near sea level in temperate climate. Puya raimondii - Milton Córdova Neyra

File:Chukiqayara, Vacas 07.JPG, Habitat in Vacas, Cochabamba, Bolivia. File:Puya Raimondii.JPG, Habitat in Ancash, Peru File:Riesenbromlie carpa-Tal 2016 01.jpg, Habitat in Huascarán National Park

Conservation status

''P. raimondii'' is considered an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

. The main threats to its survival are: human caused fires, climate change and a declining genetic diversity.

References

External links

Photographs of ''Puya raimondii''.
Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies. {{Taxonbar, from=Q134926 raimondii Flora of Bolivia Flora of Peru Endangered plants Ancash Region