Puya is a genus of the botanical family Bromeliaceae. It is the sole genus of the subfamily Puyoideae, and is composed of 226 species.Gouda, E.J. & Butcher, D. (cont. updated) A List of Accepted Bromeliaceae Names [http://bromeliad.nl/bromNames/]. University Botanic Gardens, Utrecht (accessed: 20-12-2019). 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 Indigenous Mapuche word meaning "point".
Taxonomy 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 , Plants of the World Online accepted the following species: Subgenus Image Scientific name Distribution Puya Puya alpestris Chile Puya × berteroniana (P. alpestris subsp. zoellneri × P. venusta) Chile Puya boliviensis Chile (Antofagasta) Puya castellanosii Argentina (Salta) Puya chilensis Chile Puya gilmartiniae Chile (Coquimbo) Puya raimondii Bolivia and Peru Puya weddelliana Bolivia (Chuquisaca, Tarija) Puyopsis Puya adscendens Peru Puya aequatorialis Ecuador Puya alata Bolivia Puya alba Bolivia (Tarija) Puya alpicola Colombia (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta) Puya angelensis Ecuador Puya angulonis Peru Puya angusta Peru Puya antioquensis Colombia (Antioquia) Puya araneosa Peru. Puya argentea Peru (Ancash) Puya aristeguietae Venezuela Puya assurgens Argentina (Jujuy) Puya atra Bolivia (Cochabamba) Puya barkleyana Colombia (Santander) Puya bermejana Bolivia (Tarija) to Argentina (NW. Salta) Puya bicolor Colombia Puya boopiensis Bolivia Puya boyacana Colombia (Boyacá Puya brachystachya Colombia (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta) Puya brackeana Ecuador Puya bravoi Argentina (Salta) Puya brittoniana Bolivia (La Paz) Puya cahuachensis Peru Puya cajasensis Ecuador Puya cardenasii Bolivia (Cochabamba) Puya cardonae Venezuela (Táchira) Puya casmichensis Peru (La Libertad) Puya cerrateana Peru Puya claudiae Bolivia Puya clava-herculis Colombia, Ecuador Puya cleefii Colombia Puya cochabambensis Bolivia Puya coerulea Chile Puya colcaensis Peru Puya commixta Peru (Puno) Puya compacta Ecuador Puya coriacea Peru (La Libertad) Puya cristata Bolivia (Cochabamba) Puya cryptantha Colombia Puya ctenorhyncha Bolivia (La Paz) Puya cuatrecasasii Colombia Puya cuevae Ecuador Puya cylindrica Peru Puya dasylirioides Costa Rica Puya densiflora Peru Puya depauperata Peru (Junín) Puya dichroa Colombia Puya dodsonii Ecuador Puya dolichostrobila Peru (La Libertad) Puya donneriana Bolivia Puya dyckioides Argentina, Bolivia Puya elviragrossiae Bolivia Puya entre-riosensis Bolivia Puya erlenbachiana Bolivia (Tarija) Puya eryngioides Ecuador Puya exigua Ecuador (Azuay) Puya exuta Columbia Puya fastuosa Peru (Cajamarca) Puya ferox Peru (Puno) Puya ferreyrae Peru (La Libertad) Puya ferruginea Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru Puya fiebrigii Bolivia Puya floccosa Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Venezuela Puya fosteriana Bolivia (La Paz) Puya fulgens Peru (Amazonas) Puya furfuracea Colombia (Valle del Cauca) Puya gargantae Colombia (Norte de Santander) Puya gerd-muelleri Peru (Cajamarca) Puya gerdae Peru (Lima) Puya gigas Colombia Puya glabrescens Bolivia (Cochabamba) Puya glandulosa Peru (La Libertad) Puya glareosa Bolivia (La Paz) Puya glaucovirens Peru Puya glomerifera Ecuador Puya goudotiana Colombia Puya gracilis Peru Puya grafii Venezuela (Amazonas) Puya grandidens Peru (Ancash) Puya grantii Colombia Puya grubbii Colombia (Boyacá) Puya guaramacalana Venezuela (Trujillo) Puya gutteana Peru (Cusco) Puya hamata Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Puya harmsii Argentina Puya harry-lutheri Venezuela Puya herrerae Peru Puya herzogii Bolivia (Cochabamba) Puya hirtzii Ecuador Puya hofstenii Bolivia to Argentina (Jujuy) Puya horrida Colombia Puya hortensis Peru (Huancavelica) Puya hoxeyi Peru Puya hromadnikii Bolivia Puya huancavelicae Peru (Huancavelica) Puya humilis Bolivia Puya hutchisonii Peru (Ancash) Puya ibischii Bolivia (Cochabamba) Puya iltisiana Peru (Apurímac) Puya isabellina Peru (Cajamarca) Puya joergensenii Ecuador Puya killipii Colombia, Venezuela Puya kuntzeana Bolivia (Cochabamba) Puya laccata Peru (Huánuco) Puya lanata Ecuador, Peru Puya lanuginosa Peru Puya larae Bolivia Puya lasiopoda Bolivia, Peru Puya laxa Bolivia (Santa Cruz) Puya lehmanniana Colombia Puya leptostachya Peru (Cusco) to Bolivia Puya lilloi Argentina Puya lineata Colombia Puya llatensis Peru (Huánuco) Puya loca Colombia (Cundinamarca) Puya lokischmidtiae Bolivia (Tarija) Puya longisepala Peru (Puno) Puya longispina Ecuador Puya longistyla Peru (Cusco) Puya lopezii Peru (La Libertad) Puya lutheri Peru (Ancash) Puya macbridei Peru (Ancash) Puya macropoda Peru (Amazonas) Puya macrura Peru Puya maculata Ecuador Puya mariae Peru (Amazonas) Puya medica Peru Puya membranacea Peru (Cusco) Puya meziana Bolivia (La Paz) Puya micrantha Argentina (Jujuy, Salta), Bolivia Puya mima Peru (Cajamarca) Puya minima Bolivia (Tarija)Puya mirabilis Argentina, Bolivia Puya mitis Peru Puya mollis Bolivia (La Paz) Puya mucronata Peru Puya nana Bolivia (Santa Cruz) Puya navarroana Ecuador Puya nigrescens Peru (Ancash) Puya nitida Colombia Puya nivalis Colombia (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta) Puya novarae Argentina (Salta) Puya nutans Ecuador Puya obconica Ecuador Puya occidentalis Colombia (Valle del Cauca) Puya ochroleuca Colombia (Antioquia) Puya olivacea Bolivia (Santa Cruz) Puya oxyantha Peru (Puno) Puya pachyphylla Bolivia (Santa Cruz) Puya parviflora Ecuador Puya pattersoniae Ecuador Puya paupera Bolivia (Tarija) Puya pearcei Bolivia. Puya penduliflora Bolivia (La Paz) Puya pichinchae Ecuador (Pichincha) Puya pitcairnioides Peru (Amazonas) Puya pizarroana Bolivia Puya ponderosa Peru (Ayacucho) Puya potosina Bolivia Puya pratensis Peru Puya prosanae Bolivia Puya pseudoeryngioides Peru Puya pusilla Bolivia Puya pygmaea Ecuador Puya pyramidata Peru Puya ramonii Peru (Lambayeque) Puya ramosissima Peru (Amazonas) Puya rauhii Peru (Ancash) Puya reducta Bolivia (La Paz) Puya reflexiflora Peru (Ancash) Puya retrorsa Ecuador Puya riparia Bolivia (La Paz) Puya robin-fosteri Peru Puya roezlii Peru Puya roldanii Colombia (Antioquia) Puya roseana Ecuador (Loja) Puya rusbyi Bolivia (La Paz) Puya sagasteguii Peru (La Libertad) Puya sanctae-crucis Bolivia (Santa Cruz) Puya sanctae-martae Colombia Puya santanderensis Colombia (Santander) Puya santosii Colombia (Cundinamarca) Puya secunda Bolivia Puya sehuencasensis Bolivia (Cochabamba) Puya serranoensis Bolivia Puya silvae-baccae Venezuela (Zulia) Puya simulans Peru (La Libertad) Puya smithii Argentina Puya sodiroana Ecuador Puya solomonii Bolivia Puya spathacea Argentina, Bolivia Puya stenothyrsa Bolivia Puya stipitata Peru (Huánuco) Puya strobilantha Peru (Junín) Puya textoragicolae Peru (Puno) Puya thomasiana Colombia to Ecuador Puya tillii Ecuador Puya tovariana Peru (Lima) Puya trianae Venezuela to Ecuador Puya tristis Bolivia (Cochabamba) Puya trollii Bolivia Puya tuberosa Bolivia Puya tunarensis Bolivia (Cochabamba) Puya tyleriana Peru (Ancash) Puya ugentiana Bolivia (Chuquisaca) Puya ultima Bolivia Puya valida Bolivia (Chuquisaca) Puya vallo-grandensis Bolivia Puya vargasiana Peru (Cusco) Puya vasquezii Bolivia Puya venezuelana Colombia, Venezuela Puya venusta Chile Puya vervoorstii Argentina (San Juan) Puya vestita Colombia to Ecuador (Pichincha) Puya volcanensis Argentina (Jujuy, Salta) Puya weberbaueri Bolivia, Peru Puya weberiana Argentina (Salta, Tucumán) Puya werneriana Peru (Junín) Puya westii Ecuador (Loja) to Peru Puya wrightii Peru Puya wurdackii Peru (Amazonas) Puya yakespala Argentina (Salta)
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.
References
External links Puya raimondii photos Pictures of Puya chilensis, Puya berteroniana, Puya coerulea and Puya venusta growing in Chile. BSI Genera Gallery photos