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Malesherbia lactea is a small perennial geophyte from the high Andes of northern Chile and northwestern Argentina, grown mainly by specialist collectors rather than as a common garden plant. The key is to treat it like a cool-climate alpine bulb or tuber, with good drainage and a cold winter rest.
Malesherbia lactea is a perennial geophyte native to the La Rioja and San Juan regions of Argentina and the Antofagasta and Atacama regions of Chile. It has ovate leaves that end in a sharp point. Similar to other members of Malesherbia, the flowers are red and white, and tubular in shape.
There are two varieties of M. lactea, var. crassicaulis (Bull-Hereñu) and var. lactea. Variety crassicaulis differs from var. lactea in its thicker and longer stem. It grows at lower altitudes (2700 m) than var. lactea (2500 – 4300 m) and is considered more robust. Variety crassicaulis only grows in Atacama, while var. lactea grows throughout the native range of M. lactea. It is hypothesized that var. lactea differs in ploidy level, though this has not been supported by molecular work.
Malesherbia angustisecta · Malesherbia ardens · Malesherbia arequipensis · Malesherbia auristipulata · Malesherbia bracteata · Malesherbia corallina · Malesherbia densiflora · Malesherbia deserticola · Malesherbia fasciculata · Malesherbia fatimae · Malesherbia haemantha · Malesherbia humilis
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Malesherbia lactea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
