- Region
- South America
- Origin
- Puna of Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile and western Argentina, at 3,200 to 5,250 metres
- Traditions
- Kallawaya healing knowledge
South America · Herb · № 893
Azorella compacta (en verwante soorten)
Herb · South America
Yareta
Azorella compacta (en verwante soorten)
An evergreen cushion plant that grows over the ground like a green boulder. It grows about one and a half centimetres a year; some plants are estimated to be over 3,000 years old. The plant contains a sticky resin.
Safety notes
Harvesting for fuel and resin is not sustainable; the plant does not recover within a human lifetime. The resin can irritate the skin.
Cautions by tradition (1)
- Kallawaya healing in Bolivia: Badly depleted by harvesting for fuel and resin; the plant grows extremely slowly.
Preparation
Do not harvest or use it: the plant grows extremely slowly.
Use in traditions
The name comes from the Quechua word yarita. According to Bastien Kallawaya healers used the resinous yareta, which they classed as very 'hot', externally for bruises, fractures, rheumatism and cramps from cold. The plant was also cut on a large scale for fuel, including for the trains between La Paz and Arica. Because of that harvest yareta has become rare in many places.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Kallawaya healing in Bolivia
Attributed effects
Externally for bruises, fractures, rheumatism and cramps from cold.
Preparation and amount
Do not harvest or use it.
Caution: Badly depleted by harvesting for fuel and resin; the plant grows extremely slowly.