Puya alpestris
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{speciesbox
|image = Puya alpestris flowers huntington desert garden.jpg
|image_caption =Puya alpestris flowers at the Huntington Desert Garden in San Marino, California.
|genus = Puya
|species = alpestris
| status = LC
| status_ref =
| status_system = IUCN2.3
|authority = (Poepp.) Gay 1833
|synonyms=
- Pitcairnia alpestris {{small|(Poepp.) L.H.Bailey}}
- Pourretia alpestris {{small|Poepp.}}
- Puya whytei {{small|Hook.f.}}
}}
Puya alpestris is a species of bromeliad endemic to the Chilean Andes. It is native to dry hills, rock outcrops in central and southern Chile at elevations of 0 to 2200 meters. It is one of the most southerly occurring species within the family. It is one of the few Puya species that are grown in some parks and gardens as an ornamental plant. It is more commonly known as the Sapphire Tower.
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 is formed, 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 high amounts of nectar. During the flowering period, hummingbirds and other birds pollinate the flowers. The plant blooms between October and December in habitat.{{cite book | last=Rauh | first=Werner | title=Bromelien : Tillandsien und andere kulturwürdige Bromelien | publisher=E. Ulmer | location=Stuttgart | year=1990 | isbn=3-8001-6371-3 | oclc=24143489 | language=de }}
Capsule fruits are formed, in each of which many small, airworthy seeds are formed. After the seed development, the mother plant slowly dies.{{cite journal | last1=Zizka | first1=Georg | last2=Schneider | first2=Julio V. | last3=Schulte | first3=Katharina | last4=Novoa | first4=Patricio | title=Taxonomic revision of the Chilean Puya species (Puyoideae, Bromeliaceae), with special notes on the Puya alpestris-Puya berteroniana species complex | journal=Brittonia | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=65 | issue=4 | date=2013-07-09 | issn=0007-196X | doi=10.1007/s12228-012-9290-9 | pages=387–407| s2cid=207403894 }}
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 the genus Puya, subgenus Puya.
=Subspecies=
A distinction is made between the following subspecies:
| class="wikitable" | ||
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 120px | Puya alpestris ssp alpestris | Leaf 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 |
| 120px | Puya alpestris ssp zoellneri {{small|(Mez) Zizka, J.V. Schneid. & Novoa}} | Leaf blades up to 4.6 cm, inflorescences with at least 40 lateral branches, flowering plants (2–)2.5–4.5 meters tall |
Gallery
File:Puya alpestris 2a.JPG|Plant
File:Puya alpestris ssp zoellneri Cuesta Las Chilcas 11.JPG|Spines
File:Puya alpestris kz06.jpg|inflorescence
File:Puyaalpestris1.JPG|Flower P. alpestris ssp alpestris
File:Frutos de Puya alpestris ssp zoellnerii 01.jpg| Fruits
File:Puya alpestris ssp zoellneri - Flickr - Pato Novoa.jpg|Habitat of P. alpestris ssp zoellneri
File:Puya alpestris SDBG bloom full.jpg|Sapphire tower blooming at San Diego Botanic Garden (Encinitas, CA)
File:Puya alpestris SDBG bloom zoom.jpg|Zoom of sapphire tower blooming at San Diego Botanic Garden (Encinitas, CA), May 2019
References
{{Reflist}}
- Steens, A. & Y. Cave. (2003) Bromeliads for the Contemporary Garden. Portland: Timber Press, page 132.
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Puya alpestris|Puya alpestris}}
- {{Wikispecies-inline|Puya alpestris|Puya alpestris}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q143989}}