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These waxy blooms are from a bromeliad called Puya Chilensis. Our friend Robert's favorite model (and icon) hitched a ride all the way from Iowa to sample this succulent at the Huntington Botanical Gardens. :)
Quick facts: Puya is a desert plant native in the Andes mountain regions. This plant is about four feet tall and 5 feet wide with its sword-like leaves spread. The flower spike can reach about 6-8 feet tall.
Pentax *stD, 70-300 macro zoom @ 160 mm, F/6.7, 1/250, ISO 200, pattern metering, AV mode.
NOTE: Sorry I posted the wrong name of the plant, I originally wrote it is "puya alpestris". This variety of puya is native to Chile, hence the name.