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Asteraceae FAMILY

Libanothamnus neriifolius

Libanothamnus neriifolius

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub
GrowthSlow

Libanothamnus neriifolius is a plant of higher elevations in the tropical regions of the Andes, mainly at elevations between 1,500 - 3,300 metres. The plants are usually found above the tree line in open, windswept regions known as Páramos, where the climate is wet and cool with a relative humidity that can be around 110%. The high elevation means there are high levels of UV radiation and a daily seasonality with night-time temperatures able to fall below zero at any time of the year. The plant requires an open position in a humus-rich soil that does not dry out and a good supply of clean water. The various species do not generally grow well outside of their native habitat or other similar habitats, though some have occasionally been cultivated successfully at lower elevations or in greenhouses in the temperate zone.

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Libanothamnus+neriifolius>

Pollinators

Beetles, Bumblebees

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]Caracterización química y actividad antimicrobiana del aceite esencial de las hojas de Libanothamnus neriifolius (As — Aparicio-Zambrano R. et al · 2019 · http://dx.doi.org/10.15381/rpb.v26i1.15912 · ISBN 1561-0837 ↩︎
  3. [3]Introducing Frailejones: The Andes’ Perfect Survival Plant — Anon · American Gun Association · 2021 · https://blog.gunassociation.org/frailejones-andes-survival-plant/ ↩︎An article about the uses of the genus Espeletia and other related genera. Accessed 08/05/2021
  4. [4]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  5. [5]A nomenclator for the frailejones (Espeletiinae Cuatrec., Asteraceae) — Diazgranados M. · 2012 · http://10.3897/phytokeys.16.3186 ↩︎