The Condoriri park was a treasure trove of plant species, and I wish I had several days here, as my few hours was far from enough to explore all the incredible miniature plants growing here.
Altitude: 4632 metres.
Native range is Venezuela to Argentina. Mexico Central America .
-16.199427,-68.246605
Last updated on 22 March 2023
This is also Calandrinia acaulis (Montiaceae), but the white flowers have already withered and became purplish. (I think this might be an adaption to the high altitudes they live in, the colour reduces the uv radiation for the developing seeds.)
If you click the image to enlarge, you’ll see that most of the truncated flowers are not whithered, but buds, so the only near-mature flower is the one out of focus – still red. But some of the truncated ones are also open, so they look underdeveloped or infected with some sort of disease.
This is why I wondered if this is a natural variance or a sub-species in the other post (http://www.ross.no/2012/11/18/altiplano-plant-36/)