Hercules' Club Puya
A stunning plant from the bromeliad (pineapple) family, that forms a large, dense rosette of many strap-like, thorny, bluish green leaves to about 1.2 m (4 ft.) tall, quite similar to a Dasylirion. Its common name derives from its giant inflorescence, a club-like structure that can reach more than 6 m (20 ft.) tall. In its native range in Ecuador and southern Colombia, it grows at very high altitudes between 3700 and 4100 m (12100 and 13400 ft.), mostly above the tree line, together with curious, palm-like plants called fralejónes (Espeletia sp., Asteraceae), in a grassland called páramo that is characterized by temperatures near or below freezing at night through most of the year. In cultivation it requires a cool climate without extremes of frost or heat.