Puya raimondi

''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 Peru. 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 after he encountered it in the region of Vacas, Cochabamba, 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 of ''raimondii'' commemorates the 19th-century Italian scientist Antonio Raimondi, 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, as the combination ''Puya gigantea'' was already used for a Chilean species.

Description

The queen of the Andes is the largest species of bromeliad. 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 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, 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 (plant), 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.

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 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN. 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

Puya (plant), raimondii
Flora of Bolivia
Flora of Peru
Endangered plants
Ancash Region