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Azorella compacta

Azorella compacta

Phil. 1891
Yareta

Family: Apiaceae
Order: Apiales
Class: Magnoliopsida
Phylum / Division: Magnoliophyta
Kingdom: Plantae

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Records from Santa Ana de Valle Grande


Description


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Yareta or llareta (in Spanish), known scientifically as Azorella compacta, (historically Azorella yareta) is a velvety, chartreuse cushion plant in the family Apiaceae which is native to South America. It grows in the Puna grasslands of the Andes in Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile and western Argentina at altitudes between 3200 and.

The name comes from yarita in the Quechua language.

 Yareta is an evergreen perennial with a low, mat-like shape and hemispherical growth form that grows to around 6 m in diameter. The self-fertile, pink or lavender flowers are hermaphroditic and are primarily pollinated by small flies, bees, wasps, and moths.

The plant prefers sandy, well-drained soils. It can grow in nutritionally poor soils that are acidic, neutral or basic (alkaline) at altitudes of up to 5200 m. Yareta is well-adapted to high insolation rates typical of the Andes highlands and cannot grow in shade. The plant´s leaves grow into an extremely compact, dense mat that reduces heat and water loss. This mat grows near the ground where air temperature is one or two degrees Celsius higher than the mean air temperature. This temperature difference is a result of the longwave radiation re-radiated by the soil surface, which is usually dark gray to black in the Puna.

Yareta is estimated to grow approximately per year. Many yaretas are estimated to be over 3,000 years old. These oldest ones have been reported to grow as slowly as per year. Its very slow growth makes the traditional practice of harvesting it for fuel highly unsustainable.

Source: Wikipedia, article Azorella compacta. Content adapted from Wikipedia, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Accessed on 17/07/2026.





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Foto
Photography ID: 632040
  Adult

Santa Ana de Valle Grande
Jujuy
Argentina
04/08/2025
Diego Carus



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Page 1
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
227909908/04/2025ArgentinaJujuySanta Ana de Valle GrandeMaria Belén Dri
227907408/04/2025ArgentinaJujuySanta Ana de Valle GrandeDiego Carus
Page 1

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Recommended citation
Please use the following reference when citing this species account.
EcoRegistros. 2026. Azorella compacta – Species account. Accessed from www.ecoregistros.org on 15/09/2026.