Escallonia resinosa

Escallonia resinosa is an evergreen shrub or tree native to the Andean forests of Peru, Bolivia and southern Ecuador from 2600 to 4200 meters above sea level.[1] A component of high Andean forests, it is regarded as an important source of raw materials for the Andean peoples.[2][3]

Escallonia resinosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Escalloniales
Family: Escalloniaceae
Genus: Escallonia
Species:
E. resinosa
Binomial name
Escallonia resinosa
Synonyms

Escallonia cuneifolia (Ruiz & Pav.) Schult.
Escallonia mandonii Rusby
Escallonia mandonii var. microphylla Herzog
Escallonia multiflora C.Presl
Stereoxylon cuneifolium Ruiz & Pav.
Stereoxylon resinosum Ruiz & Pav.

Description

Escallonia resinosa grows as a shrub or tree from 2 to 10 m in height.[1][3] The trunk has an irregular shape and is often twisted, with a reddish papery bark.[3] 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.[3] Flowers are white, small (ca. 1 cm long), and borne in racemes or panicles.[3]

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 and Buddleja.[2]

Uses

Escallonia resinosa is a source of firewood and wood of good quality throughout its range.[3] 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.[3] The wood was also probably used by the Incas to make a type of ceremonial vases called kero.[4][5] Leaves are used as a source of a beige color dye applied to cotton and wool.[6]

References
  1. "Tropicos.org". Missouri Botanical Garden.
  2. Gade, Daniel (1999). Nature and Culture in the Andes. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 43.
  3. Reynel, Carlos; Marcelo, Jose Luis (2009). Árboles de los Ecosistemas Forestales Andinos (in Spanish). Lima: ECOBONA. pp. 64–69.
  4. Carreras, Raquel; Escalera, Andrés (1998). "Identificación de la madera de las vasijas de libación inca (keros) pertenecientes a la colección del Museo de América" (PDF). Anales. Museo de América (in Spanish) (6): 217–222. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  5. Falcón, Víctor (2011). "Aproximación a los queros incaicos de la Colonia". Arqueología del Perú (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  6. Antúnez de Mayolo, Kay (1989). "Peruvian natural dye plants". Economic Botany. 43 (2): 181–191. doi:10.1007/BF02859858.
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