EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

A Little-Known Medicinal Herb

Quinchamalium chilense (no common name), Family Schoepfiaceae
Challhuaco Reserve, Andes Mountains, Argentina

Explanation:  It seems striking that this beautiful herb is poorly known.  

There seems to be no accepted common name for this plant.

Many web pages refer to this species as "native to Chile," which is true, but it also ranges into Argentina and further north, as well, in South America, including Bolivia and Peru (for example, see the range map on this page).  As evidence, I took these photos in the high-altitude Challhuaco Reserve in the Andes Mountains of Argentina.  

Moreover, the plant is known to have medicinal uses, but there are little to no pharmacological and phytochemical studies of the species for determining its medicinal value and properties.   

Botanically, the plant is a root "hemiparasite" that partially depends on the roots of other plant species.  But beyond that, there is scant information on its further ecological role, such as its effect on its host plant, or if, or how, its supposed medicinal value is derived from that relationship.

There are some 21 individual species attributed to this genus, Quinchamalium, identified by variations in its flower morphology and growth form.  However, at least one study (Lopez Laphitz et al. 2016) has shown that it is essentially one single, variable, species, Quinchamalium chilense, as noted here.  It seems to grow taller and have larger flowers in environments with higher precipitation, but has narrower leaves in areas with higher temperatures.  But another, subsequent study (by the same authors, in fact:  Lopez Laphitz et al. 2018) suggests that Q. chilense is actually two cryptic species, occurring separately in mountain and desert environments. 

The hidden attributes of this widespread and visually striking plant leave much for further study...

Information:
     Lopez Laphitz, R.M., C. Ezcurra, and R. Vidal-Russell.  2016.  Morphological variation in Quinchamalium (Schoepfiaceae) is associated with climatic patterns along its Andean distribution.  Systematic Botany 40(4):1045-1052.
     Lopez Laphitz, R.M., C. Ezcurra, and R. Vidal-Russell.  2018.  Cryptic species in the Andean hemiparasite Quinchamalium chilense (Schoepfiaceae: Santalales).  Systematics and Biodiversity 16(3):260-270.