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Turquoise puya

Scientific Name: Puya berteroniana
Plant Family: Bromeliaceae

Growing in the MEMBG patio area is turquoise puya (Puya berteroniana), a Chilean bromeliad with a magnificent inflorescence that rises 4 feet above the spiny rosette of leaves below. The individual emerald-turquoise flowers are 2 inches in diameter, with bright orange anthers that contrast beautifully with the petals. Turquoise is an extremely rare color in the plant world, and it's even rarer to be combined with orange. The large stature and riveting coloration of the Puya gives it an awesome appearance. Turquoise puya is easily grown from seed and is frost hardy. It is one of a number of puya species that can be seen at MEMBG, including P. chilensis with yellow flowers and the mound-forming P. venusta with blue-purple flowers. All of these species are native to the mediterranean-climate region of central Chile. N.B. For the taxonomic purists, this species has recently been reshuffled and is now best treated as Puya alpestris subsp. zoellneri.