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Oct 6, 2008: Merendera montana
Oct 6, 2007:
Skagit Valley Provincial Park
Oct 6, 2006:
Colchicum autumnale and Vitis vinifera 'Purpurea'
Oct 6, 2005:
Acer circinatum
September 6, 2007 : Puya mirabilis
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Keywords: Bromeliaceae | Puya mirabilis (Mez) L.B. Sm. | cultivated in Oakland, California, USA
Thank you to serialplantfetishist@Flickr of Berkeley, California for sharing today's photograph (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Much appreciated!
A few days ago, Brent Hine asked me to name my favourite herbaceous plant. After hemming and hawing a bit and giving the standard answer of “What's in bloom today?”, I settled on Puya as a provisional reply, at least in part because of the colours and structure. That's not to say I know a lot about them. I've only encountered a few in person, but I do know I want to see more.
For this particular species, the scientific name and the English common name seem to be the same. As mirabilis means “wonderful”, it would perhaps seem strange to call it the wonderful puya (especially when so many others are wonderful, too!). Native to Bolivia and Argentina, Puya mirabilis is one of over one hundred and fifty species within the genus. Puya species can be found throughout the highlands of South America and it is the Mapudungun vernacular name for this group of plants that lends the genus its scientific name.
As puyas go, Puya mirabilis is a short plant, reaching at most 2m (6 ft) in height. The tallest member of the Bromeliaceae, Puya raimondii, can exceed heights of 13m (43 ft), while many other members of the genus exceed 3 to 4m.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at September 6, 2007 12:00 AM
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Comments
Posted by: LocalLinda at September 6, 2007 3:53 AM
What amazing creatures!! Thank you Daniel! I was totally unaware of Puyas. Can you suggest any links/books on their autecology and synecology? I gotta learn more about these guys! George ~
Posted by: George L. 
at September 6, 2007 5:35 AM
Also: P. santosii, BPOTD 12/9/06.
Posted by: max at September 6, 2007 10:34 AM
Looks like Thunbergia gregorii (the orange flowers) in the background.
I have P. mirabilis (if correctly identified) in front of my house, but it doesn't have the bluish color of the pictured plant.
Posted by: Farmer Al at September 6, 2007 11:08 AM
How wonderful. So many colours, and shapes. This is a great picture. Thanks for sharing it with so many.
Margaret-Rae
Posted by: Margaret-Rae Davis at September 6, 2007 6:30 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
Is it fragrant? If so, please describe. Thanks for sharing another gorgeous image.