PUYA. 123 



spirally, twice as long as the sepals. Capsule broad ovoid- 

 trigonous, f in. long and broad, dehiscing septicidally and then 

 down the keel of the valves. Seeds with a broad horny border. 



Hab. Andes of Bolivia; Le Paz, 10000 ft., Bnsluj 2846! Kusby's 2850, 

 from the same locality, has much shorter pedicels. Unfortunately our material 

 for these large Bolivian species is very incomplete. 



129. P. VENUSTA Baker, Pmja venusta Philippi inedit. — Leaves 

 ensiform, rigid, a foot long, |-1 in. broad low down, tapering 

 gradually to the point, green and glabrous on the face, armed with 

 large hooked spreading spines. Peduncle under a foot long ; 

 bract-leaves ovate, scariose. Inflorescence a deltoid panicle a foot 

 long, with dense oblong racemose branches; flower- bracts broad- 

 ovate, acute, scariose, an inch long ; pedicels stout, |— i in. 

 Sepals lanceolate, |-f in. long. Petals shortly protruded, much 

 twisted after flowering. Capsule subgiobose, shorter than the 

 calyx, with 3 brown septicidal valves split down the back. 



Hab. Chili, in the provinces of Coquimbo and Aconcagua, Gaudichaud 54 ! 

 53 ! Cuming 894 ! Fhilippi 940 ! 



130. P. sPHiEROCEPHALA Baker. — Nearly allied to P. venusta; 

 heads of the panicle dense, the end one oblong, 3 in. long, 2 in. 

 diam., the side ones few, globose, 1|- in. diam., on short spreading 

 peduncles ; flowers subsessile ; flower-bracts small, ovate. Sepals 

 lanceolate, |-| in. long. Petals less than twice as long as the 

 sepals. Capsule septicidal, shorter than the calyx. 



Hab. Chili ; province of Coquimbo, Gaudichaud 55 ! (Herb. Mus. Paris.). 



23. PuYA Molina. 

 {Pourretia R. & P.). 



Sepals free, ovate or oblong, slightly imbricated. Petals free, 

 oblong-spathulate, much longer than the calyx, twisted after 

 flowering. Stamens hypogynous, shorter than the petals ; filaments 

 filiform ; anthers linear, dorsifixed. Ovanj superior, ampull^eform, 

 3-celled ; ovules many, superposed ; style long, subulate ; stigmas 

 linear, slightly twisted. Capsule oblong, loculicidally 3-valved, 

 with the seeds attached to the centre. Seeds flat, sessile, with a 

 broad horny border. — Leaves densely rosulate, ensiform-acuminate, 

 rigid, armed with large hooked pungent prickles. Fluivers in 

 simple or panicled spikes, with large ovate flower-bracts. Corolla 

 large. Difiers from all its allies by the loculicidal dehiscence of 

 the capsule. A few of the Pitcairnias exactly resemble it in leaf 

 and habit. 



Inflorescence simple Sp. 1-7. 



Inflorescence panicled Sp. 8-14. 



1. P. PYEAMiDATA Schultes fil. Syst. Veg. vii. 1235. Pourretia 

 jjyraniidata Ruiz et Pav. Fl. Peruv. iii. 34, t. 257. Pitcairnia 

 pyramidata Pers. — Acaulescent. Root-leaves ensiform, reflexing, 

 ■| ft. long, f in. broad low down, tapering gradually to the point, 

 very rigid, glossy on the face, not lepidote on the back, armed with 



