Espeletia pycnophylla

Botanical Description

Espeletia pycnophylla is an evergreen, perennial plant with an unbranched, erect stem up to 4 metres tall. The stem is topped by a large rosette of leaves, these leaves remaining attached to the stem when they die. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of resin and other materials. Although it has a restricted distribution, Espeletia pycnophylla has large well-conserved subpopulations, including some in protected areas, and there are no significant threats that are affecting its population. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].