Cyril Ruoso / Puya flowers (Puya sp) Cordillera Blanca Massif, Andes, Peru.

Cyril Ruoso / Queen of the Andes (Puya raymondii) Cordillera Blanca Massif, Andes, Peru, November.

Cyril Ruoso / Giant humming bird (Patagona gigas) feeding from Queen of the Andes (Puya raymondii) flowers, Cordillera Blanca Massif, Andes, Peru, November.

JIM CLARE / Spectacled bear feeding on puya in the Andes, SE Ecuador.

Heather Angel / Austral blackbird (Curaeus curaeus) with pollen on head after nectaring on Blue puya (Puya berteroniana). Parque Ingles, Chile. December.

Heather Angel / Austral blackbirds (Curaeus curaeus) and Austral thrush (Turdus falcklandii) nectaring on Blue puya (Puya berteroniana). Pollen transferred to birds heads during feeding. Parque Ingles, Chile. Decembe...

JIM CLARE / Paramo landscape with mist and Puya sp. coming into flower, Paramo, Canar, Andes, Ecuador.

JIM CLARE / Paramo landscape with mist and Puya sp. coming into flower, Paramo, Canar, Andes, Ecuador.

Doug Wechsler / Jocotoco Conservation Foundation ranger extracting seeds from Bromeliad (Puya sp) Antisanilla Reserve, Ecuador.

Nick Hawkins / Highland peat bog with dead flowering spikes of Puya dasylirioides , Talamanca Range, Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, Costa Rica. Sm...

Nick Hawkins / Highland peat bog with dead flowering spikes of Puya dasylirioides , Talamanca Range, Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, Costa Rica. Sm...

Cyril Ruoso / Queen of the Andes (Puya raymondii) plants in steppe, Cordillera Blanca, Andes, Peru

Cyril Ruoso / Puya (Puya sp) plant blooming, Cordillera Blanca Massif, Andes, Peru, November

Cyril Ruoso / Queen of the Andes (Puya raymondii) plants in steppe, Cordillera Blanca Massif, Andes, Peru, November.

Cyril Ruoso / Queen of the Andes (Puya raymondii) plants in steppe, Cordillera Blanca Massif, Andes, Peru, November.

Cyril Ruoso / Queen of the Andes (Puya raymondii) plants in steppe, Cordillera Blanca Massif, Andes, Peru, November.

Cyril Ruoso / Queen of the Andes (Puya raymondii) plants in steppe, Cordillera Blanca Massif, Andes, Peru, November.

Cyril Ruoso / Queen of the Andes (Puya raymondii) plants in steppe, Cordillera Blanca Massif, Andes, Peru, November.

Cyril Ruoso / Queen of the Andes (Puya raymondii) flowers, Cordillera Blanca Massif, Andes, Peru, November.

Cyril Ruoso / Queen of the Andes (Puya raymondii) plant, Cordillera Blanca Massif, Andes, Peru, November.

Cyril Ruoso / Andean Flicker (Colaptes rupicola) on trunk of Queen of the Andes (Puya raymondii) Cordillera Blanca Massif, Andes, Peru, November.

Martha Holmes / Queen of the Andes (Puya raimondii) forest. Peru. June 2012.

Martha Holmes / Queen of the Andes (Puya raimondii) forest, Peru. June 2012.

Luiz Claudio Marigo / Bromeliad (Puya santosii) Paramo habitat, Andean high altitude fields. Chingaza Natural National Park, municipality of La Calera, Cundinamarca Department, Colombia.

JIM CLARE / Close up of flower spike of Puya plant {Puya raimondii} Peru

Pete Oxford / Puya {Puya raimondii} with large flower head, nr Mizque, Bolivia

Luiz Claudio Marigo / Man beside {Puya raimondii} in flower, largest bromeliad in the world, Bolivia

Luiz Claudio Marigo / {Puya raimondii} in flower, largest bromeliad in the world, Bolivia

Pete Oxford / Puya flower {Puya clava-hercules} Andes, Ecuador, Cayambe-Coca Reserve

Pete Oxford / Puya flowers {Puya clava-hercules} Andes, Ecuador, Cayambe-Coca Reserve

Pete Oxford / Paramo vegetation with Puya clava-hercules, Andes, Ecuador, Cayambe-Coca Reserve

Pete Oxford / Puya hamata flower / seedhead - terrestrial bromeliad. El Angel Ecological Reserve - Paramo habitat, Northern Andes, Ecuador. South America

Pete Oxford / Puya hamata seed head. Terrestrial bromeliad. El Angel Ecological Reserve (Paramo habitat), Carchi Province, Northern Andes, Ecuador. South America

Pete Oxford / Puya hamata, terrestrial bromeliad and Frailejones. El Angel Ecological Reserve (Paramo habitat), Carchi Province, Northern Andes, Ecuador. South America

Pete Oxford / Puya hamata, terrestrial bromeliad and Frailejones. El Angel Ecological Reserve (Paramo habitat), Carchi Province, Northern Andes, Ecuador. South America

Pete Oxford / Puya hamata, terrestrial bromeliad and Frailejones. El Angel Ecological Reserve (Paramo habitat), Carchi Province, Northern Andes, Ecuador. South America

Pete Oxford / Puya hamata close up. Terrestrial bromeliad. El Angel Ecological Reserve (Paramo habitat) Northern Andes, Ecuador. South America

Pete Oxford / Flowering Puya {Puya hamata} + Frailejones {Espeletia pycnophylla} paramo, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Flowering Puya {Puya hamata} + Frailejones {Espeletia pycnophylla} paramo, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Terrestrial bromeliad, Frailejones, Puya hamata & Espeletia pycnophylla. El Angel Ecological Res. 3700m, Paramo habitat, Carchi Province, N Andes, Ecuador. South America

MORLEY READ / Puya hamata (Puya species}, a large terrestrial fire-resistant bromeliad, in the Ecuadorian Andes

JIM CLARE / Puya raimondii in flower with camerman to give scale, Huascaran NP, Andes, Peru

Pete Oxford / Puya raimondii flowerheads, altiplano, Comanche NP, Bolivia

Pete Oxford / Puya raimondii {Puya raimondii}, largest known bromeliad, near Mizque, Bolivia

JIM CLARE / {Puya raimondii} flower spike, Huascaran NP Andes, Peru, South America

MORLEY READ / Puya hamat (Puya species}, a large terrestrial fire-resistant bromeliad, in the Ecuadorian Andes

Doug Wechsler / Paramo vegetation with Puya plants, Papallacta Ecuador

Doug Allan / Puya growing at 3800m, on the altiplano, Bolivia.