Azorella Species, Yareta, llareta

Per Jan Emming who took 3 of the above photos discusses this amazing plant:
"One of the most distinctive high Andean plants is the...Read More yareta (Azorella compacta) which grows into large dense cushion mounds that look like moss. But the plant is actually a member of the carrot family, Apiaceae. In addition to their unique appearance yaretas are known for their immense age, which is estimated to be as much as 2500 to 3000 years old for the largest specimens. Needless to say, their growth rates in these nearly rainless and almost always frigid Andean peaks is excessively slow, only a few millimeters a year. Once burned for fuel in lieu of nonexistent firewood, yaretas are now considered protected so that an amazing and ancient species doesn't go up in smoke to heat a cup of tea or toast a tortilla. They occur in high-elevation puna grasslands and alpine ecosystems in Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina."