''Escallonia resinosa'' is an evergreen shrub or tree native to the Andean forests of
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
,
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
and southern
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
from 2600 to 4200 meters above sea level.
A component of high Andean forests, it is regarded as an important source of raw materials for the Andean peoples.
Description
''Escallonia resinosa'' grows as a shrub or tree from 2 to 10 m in height.
The trunk has an irregular shape and is often twisted, with a reddish papery bark.
Leaves are simple and spirally arranged, often clustered at the end of the branchlets, oblanceolate, 2–3.5 cm long, 0.5–0.7 cm wide, with a finely dentate margin.
Flowers are white, small (ca. 1 cm long), and borne in racemes or panicles.
Distribution and habitat
''Escallonia resinosa'' is found in the Andes, from southern Ecuador to Peru and Bolivia, between 2600 and 4200 m of elevation. It is found in seasonally dry montane forests of mountain slopes, often growing in association with trees of genera ''
Polylepis
''Polylepis'' is a genus comprising 28 recognised shrub and tree species, that are endemic to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes. This group is unique in the rose family in that it is predominantly wind-pollinated. They are ...
'' and ''
Buddleja
''Buddleja'' (; ''Buddleia''; also historically given as ''Buddlea'') is a genus comprising over 140 species of flowering plants endemic to Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The generic name bestowed by Linnaeus posthumously honoured the Revere ...
.''
Uses
''Escallonia resinosa'' is a source of firewood and wood of good quality throughout its range.
This tree species furnishes a hard wood for tools and is often used to manufacture chaquitacllas (a tool used for soil plowing) by the indigenous peoples of the Andes since ancient times.
The wood was also probably used by the Incas to make a type of ceremonial vases called kero. Leaves are used as a source of a beige color dye applied to cotton and wool.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1366783
Trees of Peru
Trees of Ecuador
Trees of Bolivia
resinosa