Range and conservation status
The new species may be restricted to the region of Entre Rios in the Department of Tarija. However, as it is an inconspicuous species it is possible that it may have been overlooked until now in similar ecosystems found in southern Bolivia or even northern Argentina. In case it does turn out that the species is a local endemic it cannot be considered as an endangered species as it occurs in altered vegetation. According to knowledge gained from the study of other species, it has been found that land-degradation (at least by grazing) tends to promote Puya species which are normally adapted to shallow and rocky soils.
Until now the flora of Southern Bolivia cannot be regarded as having been intensively studied. Therefore, there are still many floristic surprises waiting to be discovered by the scientific world. The Department of Tarija, located in the extreme southern section of Bolivia, is characterized by an ecological transition from arid puna and dry inter-Andean valleys to semihumid montane forests (Tucumanian-Bolivian forest) and Chaco forests. From this region some interesting Puya species are known to science, mostly collected several decades ago by some famous botanists. For example, Weddell, was the first person to record a Puya species from this region: P. weddelliana (Baker) Mez, during the latter part of the last century. Fiebrig found P. paupera Mez at the beginning of this century, and Cardenas collected P. alba L.B. Smith in 1952. Two other species, P. dyckioides (Baker) Mez and P. mirabilis (Mez) L.B. Smith can also be found in this region. Interestingly, in the valleys of Tarija at least two species of dwarf Puyas have evolved: P. minima L. B. Smith and P. hromadnikii Rauh. The latter belongs to some of the latest Puya species described from Bolivia.
The following is the description of a new species is which was collected in 1993 by the first author and his wife. At present, 50 Puya species, including this one, have been recorded from Bolivia. —SeeIbisch & Gross 1998p. 48(5): 217-220
