Yareth - a stone plant from South America

Yaretha resembles a cluster of stones covered with moss, which can be found in the arid highlands in western South America. But in fact, this is a flowering plant, which, based on their harsh living conditions, chose for themselves such an unusual life form.

Yareth is found only high in the Andes, from 3 to 4.5 kilometers above sea level. This is an endemic relic plant, which is under special protection in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Colombia. The yareth belongs to the genus Azorella, in which, in addition to the yareth, other plants of a similar form are also found. Under the soft green carpet is a solid base, consisting of strong old shoots, so just pick up a yaret pillow and break it off.

The unusual appearance of the yareth is due to the fact that it is a pillow plant. Such life forms are often found where there is a lack of soil, there is practically no rainfall or not enough heat to form full-fledged stems. That is, pillow plants are always adaptations to extreme conditions in which ordinary plants simply cannot survive.

Yaret grows, like all pillow plants, extremely slowly, about 2 centimeters per year. Therefore, large-sized yarets are rare and always cause admiration. The age of the largest yarets that are found in the Andes, botanists estimate at 2-3 thousand years. Large specimens are of great value also because the inhabitants of the Andes for a long time used yareth as a fuel, as well as received a valuable resinous substance and used in various recipes of traditional medicine. But nowadays, the yareth is under protection and its cutting is prohibited.

Another feature of yareth is its ability to self-pollination. In order for tiny light flowers to be able to turn into a box with seeds, yarets do not need insects, although they are sometimes found in those high-mountain areas where it grows. Most likely, this is a kind of protection against extinction, in case the yareth climbs even higher or the climate changes in the direction of cooling.