Description of Life History and Reproductive Size Thresholds in Three High Elevation Puya (Bromeliaceae)

Abstract

The Andes are a hotspot for biodiversity and high species endemism for both plants and animals. The genus Puya (Bromeliaceae) lives throughout the Andes, including puna and the páramo ecosystems above 3500m. Here, we studied the life history and reproductive size thresholds in three species of Puya (P. raimondii, P. cryptantha and P. goudotiana): P. raimondii in the Bolivian puna, and P. cryptantha and P. goudotiana in the Colombian páramo. We collected data on threshold size at flowering and clonal reproduction. All three species were found to have a consistent minimum size at flowering, while only P. cryptantha demonstrated a minimum size for clonal reproduction. No such evidence was found for P. goudotiana. We also found a positive correlation between leaf length and fruit number for P. goudotiana and P. cryptantha. Our data supported that P. raimondii is fully semelparous and indicated that P. goudotiana and P. cryptantha may be semi-semelparous.