Queen of the andes (Puya raimondii)
Description
Puya raimondii, also known as queen of the Andes (English), titanka (Quechua) or puya de Raimondi (Spanish), is the largest species of bromeliad. It is native to Bolivia and Peru and is restricted to the high Andes at an elevation of 3000 – 4800 m. It is not only the largest of the Puya species, but also the largest species of bromeliad. It can reach 3 m tall in vegetative growth, with a rosette of around a hundred sword-like leaves up to five feet (1.5 meters) in length topping a trunk up to four feet (1.2 meters) thick. The trunk, peduncle and inflorescence together can reach as much as fifty feet (15 meters) in total height. It can produce an inflorescence (technically a spiciform panicle) 16 to 23 feet (5 to 7 meters) in length bearing between 8,000 and 20,000 flowers, and a total of six million seeds from each plant. Its reproductive cycle is approximately 40 years, though one individual planted near sea level at the University of California Botanical Garden, USA, in 1958 grew to 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in) and bloomed in August 1986 after only 28 years. Like most bromeliads, it is a monocarp and dies soon after flowering and fruiting. It is considered to be an endangered species. Seeds were collected of P. raimondii in 1999 and 2000 of the rodales of Huashta Cruz (district Pueblo Libre, Ancash region, Peru), near the city of Caraz. It is also known to grow in the Masma Chicche District of Jauja Province.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Fanerógama Magnoliophyta
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Class: Liliopsida
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Order: Poales
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Family: Bromeliaceae
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Genus: Puya
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