The only sign I could find near these plants at VanDusen Botanical Garden said Puya berteroniana. I'd have dismissed that right away (you can see photos of P. berteroniana, which to me looks nothing like this,in this thread), but I see that the leaves do look like puya rosettes, so maybe the sign is meant for this group of plants, and the genus is right but they're a different species?
Many unrelated plants have similar foliage, the structure of the reproductive parts always trumps the general appearance of the plant body.
Thanks, saltcedar and Ron. I thought those things looked familiar. I just learned a different Eryngium this year, but clearly I haven't really got it yet.
