HABITAT AND ECOLOGY: Puya vasquezii sp. nov. was found in the eastern slopes of the cordillera Oriental mountain range de los Andes before disappearing in the plain that surrounds the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (basin of the River Pirai). It is possibly the only Bolivian Puya that grows at the lowest altitude. It grows on hillsides and banks beside the semi deciduous forest - Boliviano-tucumano. It is sympatric with P. .sanctae-crucis and Deuterocohnia longipetala, with which it can be mistaken at first sight because of the similarity of their leaves. Other bromeliads from the area are two species of Fosterella not yet identified. —SeeIbisch 1998
