Puya alpestris

Puya alpestris is a species of bromeliad native to Chilean Andes. It is native to dry hills, rock outcorps in central and southern Chile at elevations of 0 to 2200 meters. It is one of the most southerly occurring species within the family. Puya alpestris is one of the few Puya species that are grown in some parks and gardens as an ornamental plant.

Puya alpestris
Puya alpestris flowers at the Huntington Desert Garden in San Marino, California.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Bromeliaceae
Genus: Puya
Species:
P. alpestris
Binomial name
Puya alpestris
(Poepp.) Gay 1833
Synonyms
  • Pitcairnia alpestris (Poepp.) L.H.Bailey
  • Pourretia alpestris Poepp.
  • Puya whytei Hook.f.

Description

Puya alpestris grows as a xerophytic, perennial plant. A dense rosette of leaves is formed on a short stem. The tough, stiffly protruding, parallel-veined leaves run into a sharp point, have a length of over 1 meter and a width of 2 to 2.5 centimeters. The leaf margin is reinforced with hooked, curved, spines that are approximately 0.5 cm long. The underside of the leaf is dense white scales.

After many years an upright, loose, paniculate overall inflorescence form, which is composed of numerous racemose partial branching inflorescences. The lower third of the branch contain stellate trichomes. It contains many bright red bracts and many individual flowers. The tips of the partial inflorescences are sterile. The flower stalk is about 7 mm long. The hermaphrodite flower is threefold. The three greenish sepals are about 2.3 cm long and hairy or bald. The three teal petals with blunt tips are about 4.5 cm long and spiral in as they fade. The six stamens have bright orange anthers. The flowers produce a lot of nectar. During the flowering period, one can observe hummingbirds and other birds pollinating the flowers. The plant blooms between October and December in habitat.[1]

Capsule fruits are formed, in each of which many small, airworthy seeds are formed. After the seed and child development, the mother plant slowly dies.[2]

  • Plant
  • Spines
  • inflorescence
  • Flower P. alpestris ssp alpestris
  • Fruits
  • Habitat of P. alpestris ssp zoellneri

Systematics

This species was first described by Eduard Friedrich Poeppig in 1833 in the Fragmentum Synopseos Plantarum Phanerogamum: 8 under the name Pourretia alpestris. The specific epithet alpestris for “Alps inhabiting” refers to the Andes for this species. Another synonym is Puya whytei Hook.f. described in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine. A subspecies zoellneri was published in Brittonia in 2013. Puya alpestris is a member of Puya subgeus Puya.

Subspecies

A distinction is made between the following subspecies:[2]

ImageNameDescription
Puya alpestris ssp alpestrisLeaf blades 0.35–2.5[−3.2] cm, inflorescences with up to 20 lateral branches, flowering plants, flowering plants 1.2-2.5 meters tall
Puya alpestris ssp zoellneri (Mez) Zizka, J.V. Schneid. & NovoaLeaf blades up to 4.6 cm, inflorescences with at least 40 lateral branches, flowering plants (2–)2.5–4.5 meters tall

References
  1. Rauh, Werner (1990). Bromelien : Tillandsien und andere kulturwürdige Bromelien (in German). Stuttgart: E. Ulmer. ISBN 3-8001-6371-3. OCLC 24143489.
  2. Zizka, Georg; Schneider, Julio V.; Schulte, Katharina; Novoa, Patricio (2013-07-09). "Taxonomic revision of the Chilean Puya species (Puyoideae, Bromeliaceae), with special notes on the Puya alpestris-Puya berteroniana species complex". Brittonia. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 65 (4): 387–407. doi:10.1007/s12228-012-9290-9. ISSN 0007-196X. S2CID 207403894.
  • Steens, A. & Y. Cave. (2003) Bromeliads for the Contemporary Garden. Portland: Timber Press, page 132.
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