Puya

Puya, the largest of the Bromeliaceæ (q.v.), found in Chili as far south as 40° S. It equals the Agave (which in its characters it somewhat resembles) in height, and greatly surpasses it in the thickness of its half-wooly stem. When the plant is mature it thrusts, forth from its crown of spiny leaves a huge panicle of yellow flowers, which may be from 6 to 9 feet in height. The plant has been grown under cover in England, and will thrive in the open air in the Mediterranean regions of Europe.