Puya vallograndensis Rauh[as Puya vallograndensis Rauh]

Diagnose: —Planta acaulis e basi ramosa, itaque turmas formans, florens usque 60 cm alta; rosulae singulares basi subbulbosae usque ad 30 cm altae, usque ad 25 cm diametientes; folia numerosa; vagina distincte limitata, rotunda usque ad 2 cm lata, 1,5 cm longa, supra glabra, alba, apicem versus brunnescens, subtus castanea, apice albo-lepidota; lamina ad 30 cm longa, supra vaginam 5 mm lata, in apicem longum filiformem recurvatum excurrens, basi canaliculata, viridii, supra subglabra, subtus dense albo-lepidota; lepides appendicibus longis albis; dentes foliorum exiles, virescenti-albi, 1 mm longi, plus minusve 1 cm inter se distantes; scapus inflorescentiae 10-20 cm longus, erectus, teres, 5 mm diametiens, rufus, dense albo-lanato lepidotus; internodia2,5-1,5 cm longa; phylla scapi numerosa, basalia subfoliata; vagina erecta 2-1,5 cm longa margine dense minuteque denticulato, 5 mm lato, lepidoto viridi basi rufo et lamina filiformi, 1 mm lata disperse denticulata; bracteae scapi superiores acuminatae, elaminatae, longiores quam internodia; inflorescentia laxe bipinnata usque ad 50 cm longa, 7 cm lata; rhachis teres, cinnabarina albolanata; internodia 2-3 cm longa; rami laterales numerosa erecto-patentes, basales impediti; longissimi usque ad 7 cm longi, longiores quam vaginae bractearum primariarum; racemus terminalis usque ad 12 cm longus usque ad apicem conspicuam fertilis; bracteae primariae oblongo-ovali-acuminatae, basales usque ad 3 cm longae, superiores breviores, sed longiores, quam pars basalis ramorum lateralium brevis 0,5 cm longa sterilis, rufescenti-virides subtus albolanatae margine dense albo-tenui-dentatae; flores numerosi laxe spiraliter dispositi, pedunculati, erecto-patentes, sub anthesi cum pedunculo usque ad 22 mm longi; bracteae florales ovaliellipticae in apicem acutum excurrentes, rubrae, partim modice (sicco distincte) carinatae et nervatae, subtus disperse lepidotae, margine valde lanatae, molli-aculeatae, longiores quam pedunculus 3 mm longus, brunnescenti-viridis pilosus, sed sepalis breviores; sepala 5 mm longa, 3 mm lata oblongo-ovalia, obtusa, mucronulata, intense rubra, subtus dense albo-lanata; petala eligulata, 15-17 mm longa tubum 3 mm diametientem formantia, anguste lanceolata, apicibus paulum recurvatis obtusa, atroviridia, basim versus alba, prime, violacea, desiccantia coccinea, post anthesin parum involuta; stamina et stylus inclusa; stylus in parte superiore viridis, brevior quam filamenta alba thecis luteis. Habitat et distributio: Bolivia, inter Loma Larga et Valle grande (Prov. Sta. Cruz) in locis declivibus saxoso-graminosis, 2000 m.s.m. (Aug. 1981). Holotypus: HROMADNIK, nr. coll. 5279 (= B.G.H. 50 823), in (HEID).

Observations: —P. vallo-grandensis, is vegetatively similar to Puya hromadnikii Rauh with its narrow leaves and the rosettes branched at the base but both species differfrom each other at flowering, because P. vallo-grandensis always has a richly branched, bipinnate inflorescence.
The woolly hairy inflorescence axis, the floral bracts and sepals are a shiny red colour, to which the emerald green petals contrast. A near relative may be P micrantha Mez , whose leaves are 90 cm long ; moreover the to 50 cm wide lax paniculate inflorescence, the spreading to ascending inflorescence spikes, the inflorescence axis ± glabrous and the floral bracts shorter than the pedicels. All these characteristics show P. vallo-grandensis to be a species in its own right.

Translated by Butcher from: Rauh 1983a. (protologue) Bromelienstudien (Mitteilung 12). I. Neue und wenig bekannte Arten aus Peru und anderen Ländern .