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Tropaeolum polyphyllum
Tropaeolum polyphyllum is a species of flowering plant in the nasturtium family Tropaeolaceae. It is endemic to mountainous regions of Chile and Argentina where it is called in Spanish soldadito grande de la cordillera (great soldier of the mountains).
Tropaeolum polyphyllum needs full sun and neutral or slightly acid, well drained soil. It grows well on hot, dry banks and is hardy when fully established. Propagate from tubers or by seed. The seeds should be sown in the spring in well-drained compost and covered with 1 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.8 in) of sand. The containers should be kept at below 4 °C (39 °F) until the seedlings appear in about a month. Too high a temperature inhibits germination. The USDA Hardiness Zone is 7.
Tropaeolum polyphyllum is endemic to the central Andes in Chile and Argentina where it grows at heights of up to 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level. Its typical habitat is among scantily vegetated stony ground or on scree where it forms small hummocks of grey-green foliage studded with yellow flowers. In this area, summer droughts may last for several months and what precipitation there is, falls mainly in the winter. The plant has small, rounded tubers which are buried deep in the ground and which enable it to survive being covered with snow for several months and withstand temperatures down to −20 °C (−4 °F).
Tropaeolum adpressum · Tropaeolum argentinum · Tropaeolum asplundii · Blue Nasturtium · Tropaeolum beuthii · Tropaeolum brachyceras · Tropaeolum brideanum · Tropaeolum carchense · Tropaeolum emarginatum · Tropaeolum hookerianum · Tropaeolum huigrense · Tropaeolum incisum
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Tropaeolum polyphyllum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
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.
