Puya (plant) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Puya (plant)

Puya berteroniana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Bromeliaceae
Subfamily:	Puyoideae Givnish
Genus:	*Puya* Molina
Type species
Puya chilensis
Species
See text

Puya is a genus of the botanical family Bromeliaceae. It is the sole genus of the subfamily Puyoideae, and is composed of 226 species. These terrestrial plants are native to the Andes Mountains of South America and southern Central America. Many of the species are monocarpic, with the parent plant dying after one flower and seed production event.

The species Puya raimondii is notable as the largest species of bromeliad known, reaching 3 m tall in vegetative growth with a flower 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 at the branch apex in Puya, which are fertile in Puyopsis.

Species

Puya goudotiana, Páramo of Guasca, Colombia

Puya adscendens L.B. Smith
Puya aequatorialis André
- P. a. var. albiflora André
Puya alata L.B. Smith
Puya alba L.B. Smith
Puya alpestris (Poeppig) Gay
Puya alpicola L.B. Smith
Puya angelensis E. Gross & Rauh
Puya angulonis L.B. Smith
Puya angusta L.B. Smith
Puya antioquiensis L.B. Smith & R.W. Read
Puya araneosa L.B. Smith
Puya argentea L.B. Smith
Puya aristeguietae L.B. Smith
Puya asplundii L.B. Smith
Puya assurgens L.B. Smith
Puya atra L.B. Smith
Puya barkleyana L.B. Smith
Puya bermejana Gómez, Slanis & Grau
Puya berteroniana Mez
Puya bicolor Mez
Puya boliviensis Baker
Puya boopiensis R. Vásquez, Ibisch & R. Lara
Puya boyacana Cuatrecasas
Puya brachystachya (Baker) Mez
Puya brackeana Manzanares & W. Till
Puya brittoniana Baker
Puya cajasensis Manzanares & W. Till
Puya cardenasii L.B. Smith
Puya cardonae L.B. Smith
Puya casmichensis L.B. Smith
Puya castellanosii L.B. Smith
Puya cerrateana L.B. Smith
Puya chilensis Molina
Puya claudiae Ibisch, R. Vásquez & E. Gross
Puya clava-herculis Mez & Sodiro
Puya cleefii L.B. Smith & R.W. Read
Puya cochabambensis R. Vásquez & Ibisch
Puya coerulea Lindley
- P. c. var. violacea (Brongniart) Smith
- P. c. var. monteroana (Smith & Looser) Smith & Looser
- P. c. var. intermedia (Smith & Looser) Smith & Looser
Puya commixta L.B. Smith
Puya compacta L.B. Smith
Puya coriacea L.B. Smith
Puya cristata L.B. Smith
Puya cryptantha Cuatrecasas
Puya ctenorhyncha L.B. Smith
Puya cuatrecasasii L.B. Smith
Puya cuevae Manzanares & W. Till
Puya cylindrica Mez
Puya dasylirioides Standley
Puya densiflora Harms
Puya depauperata L.B. Smith
Puya dichroa L.B. Smith & R.W. Read
Puya dodsonii Manzanares & W. Till
Puya dolichostrobila Harms
Puya dyckioides (Baker) Mez
Puya elviragrossiae R. Vásquez & P.L. Ibisch
Puya entre-riosensis Ibisch & E. Gross
Puya erlenbachiana Ibisch & R. Vásquez
Puya eryngioides André
Puya exigua Mez
Puya exuta L.B. Smith & R.W. Read
Puya fastuosa Mez
Puya ferox Mez
Puya ferreyrae L.B. Smith
Puya ferruginea (Ruiz & Pavón) L.B. Smith
Puya fiebrigii Mez
Puya floccosa (Linden) E. Morren
- P. f. var. compacta L.B. Smith
Puya fosteriana L.B. Smith
Puya fulgens L.B. Smith
Puya furfuracea (Willdenow) L.B. Smith
Puya gargantae L.B. Smith
Puya gerd-muelleri W. Weber
Puya gerdae W. Weber
Puya gigas André
Puya gilmartiniae G.S. Varadarajan & Flores
Puya glabrescens L.B. Smith
Puya glandulosa L.B. Smith
Puya glareosa L.B. Smith
Puya glaucovirens Mez
Puya glomerifera Mez & Sodiro
Puya goudotiana Mez
Puya gracilis L.B. Smith
Puya grafii Rauh
Puya grandidens Mez
Puya grantii L.B. Smith
Puya grubbii L.B. Smith
Puya gutteana W. Weber
Puya hamata L.B. Smith
Puya harmsii (Castellanos) Castellanos
Puya herrerae Harms
Puya herzogii Wittmack
Puya hirtzii Manzanares & W. Till
Puya hofstenii Mez
Puya horrida L.B. Smith & R.W. Read
Puya hortensis L.B. Smith
Puya hoxeyi Janeba
Puya hromadnikii Rauh
Puya huancavelicae L.B. Smith
Puya humilis Mez
Puya hutchisonii L.B. Smith
Puya ibischii R. Vásquez
Puya iltisiana L.B. Smith
Puya isabellina Mez
Puya joergensenii H. Luther
Puya killipii Cuatrecasas
Puya kuntzeana Mez
Puya laccata Mez
Puya lanata Kunth
Puya lanuginosa (Ruiz & Pavón) Schultes f.
Puya larae R. Vásquez & Ibisch
Puya lasiopoda L.B. Smith
Puya laxa L.B. Smith
Puya lehmanniana L.B. Smith
Puya leptostachya L.B. Smith
Puya lilloi Castellanos
Puya lineata Mez
Puya llatensis L.B. Smith
Puya lokischmidtiae R. Vásquez & Ibisch
Puya longisepala Mez
Puya longispina Manzanares & W. Till
Puya longistyla Mez
Puya lopezii L.B. Smith
Puya × loxensis Manzanares & W. Till
Puya lutheri W. Till
Puya macbridei L.B. Smith
- P. m. ssp. yungayensis W. Weber
Puya macropoda L.B. Smith
Puya macrura Mez
Puya maculata L.B. Smith
Puya mariae L.B. Smith
Puya medica L.B. Smith
Puya membranacea L.B. Smith
Puya meziana Wittmack
Puya micrantha Mez
Puya mima L.B. Smith & R.W. Read
Puya minima L.B. Smith
Puya mirabilis (Mez) L.B. Smith
Puya mitis Mez
Puya mollis Baker
Puya mucronata Manzanares
Puya nana Wittmack
Puya navarroana Manzanares & W. Till
Puya nigrescens L.B. Smith
Puya nitida Mez
- P. n. var. glabrior L.B. Smith & R.W. Read
Puya nivalis Baker
Puya nutans L.B. Smith
Puya obconica L.B. Smith
Puya occidentalis L.B. Smith
Puya ochroleuca Betancur & Callejas
Puya olivacea Wittmack
Puya oxyantha Mez
Puya pachyphylla R. Vásquez & Ibisch
Puya parviflora L.B. Smith
Puya pattersoniae Manzanares & W. Till
Puya paupera Mez
Puya pearcei (Baker) Mez
Puya penduliflora L.B. Smith
Puya × pichinchae Mez & Sodiro
Puya pitcairnioides L.B. Smith
Puya pizarroana R. Vásquez, Ibisch & St. Beck
Puya ponderosa L.B. Smith
Puya potosina L.B. Smith
Puya pratensis L.B. Smith
Puya prosanae Ibisch & E. Gross
Puya pseudoeryngioides H. Luther
Puya pygmaea L.B. Smith
Puya pyramidata (Ruiz & Pavón) Schultes f.
Puya quillotana W. Weber
Puya raimondii Harms
Puya ramonii L.B. Smith
Puya ramosa L.B. Smith
Puya rauhii L.B. Smith
Puya reducta L.B. Smith
Puya reflexiflora Mez
Puya retrorsa Gilmartin
Puya riparia L.B. Smith
Puya robin-fosteri H. Luther
Puya roezlii E. Morren
Puya roldanii Betancur & Callejas
Puya roseana L.B. Smith
Puya rusbyi (Baker) Mez
Puya sagasteguii L.B. Smith
Puya sanctae-crucis (Baker) L.B. Smith
Puya sanctae-martae L.B. Smith
Puya santanderensis Cuatrecasas
Puya santosii Cuatrecasas
- P. s. var. verdensis Cuatrecasas
Puya secunda L.B. Smith
Puya sehuencasensis R. Vásquez, Ibisch & R. Lara
Puya silvae-baccae L.B. Smith & R.W. Read
Puya simulans L.B. Smith
Puya smithii Castellanos
Puya sodiroana Mez
Puya solomonii G.S. Varadarajan
Puya spathacea (Grisebach) Mez
Puya stenothyrsa (Baker) Mez
Puya stipitata L.B. Smith
Puya strobilantha Mez
Puya textoragricolae W. Weber
Puya thomasiana André
Puya tillii Manzanares
Puya tovariana L.B. Smith
Puya trianae Baker
- P. t. var. amplior L.B. Smith & R.W. Read
Puya tristis L.B. Smith
Puya trollii L.B. Smith
Puya tuberosa Mez
Puya tunarensis Mez
Puya ugentiana L.B. Smith
Puya ultima L.B. Smith
Puya valida L.B. Smith
Puya vargasiana L.B. Smith
Puya vasquezii Ibisch & E. Gross
Puya venezuelana L.B. Smith
Puya venusta Philippi
Puya vestita André
Puya volcanensis Castillon
Puya weberbaueri Mez
Puya weberiana E. Morren ex Mez
Puya weddelliana (Baker) Mez
Puya werneriana R.W. Read & L.B. Smith
Puya westii L.B. Smith
Puya wrightii L.B. Smith
Puya wurdackii L.B. Smith
Puya yakespala Castellanos

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 (plant) facts for kids

Species

Cultivation and use

See also