I Speak For The Trees

Barnadesias, growing in Guarumal Grande, Pichincha Province.  Barnadesia are spiny, Andean-native plants that range in habit from vines through to trees.  They are members of the giant Aster family, and are considered to be the earliest remnant of that family’s evolution.  There are about 20 species with pan-Andean distribution within montane cloud forests, up to altitudes of about 3000 meters.  All parts of the plant bear spines of varying lengths; the most notable are the trunks of Barnardesia parviflora (photo 2) which have clusters arranged spirally around the trunk.  Flowers, which range from hot pink through red to orange, are borne at the terminus of the plant, singly or in clusters; even these have spines on the carpels.  As with most of this week’s species, it is considered endangered.