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Puya alpestris
Sapphire Tower is a spiny, rosette-forming bromeliad from the dry hills of central and southern Chile, grown in some gardens for its striking tall flower spike. Its key to success is excellent drainage and full sun, since it is adapted to arid, rocky ground.
Puya alpestris is a species of bromeliad endemic to the Chilean Andes. It is native to dry hills, rock outcrops in central and southern Chile at elevations of 0 to 2200 meters. It is one of the most southerly occurring species within the family. It is one of the few Puya species that are grown in some parks and gardens as an ornamental plant. It is more commonly known as the Sapphire Tower.
Puya alpestris produces large amounts of nectar in each of its flowers. The culpeo fox is known to feed on its nectar, likely pollinating it in the process.
Puya angelensis · Puya · Sotol Puya · Queen of the Andes · Puya
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Puya alpestris by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
