Plate 070 · drooping branches over a stream IdentificationFour marks on the plate
- 1Narrow willow-like leaves, a few cm long.
- 2Opposite leaves, in pairs at each node.
- 3White flowers with a tuft of stamens.
- 4Round berries red turning purple-black.
Easily confused with Humboldt's willowSalix humboldtianaAlternate, toothed leaves, no showy white flowers or berries. 070 / 100 · PLANTS · MYRTACEAENOT EVALUATED Willow-leaved Myrtle
Blepharocalyx salicifolius
Horco molle
Its name comes from Quechua and means roughly "mountain molle". The Horco Molle reserve in the Sierra de San Javier is named after it. Its branches droop like a willow's and its narrow leaves smell aromatic when crushed.
- Tree height
- c. 5 – 15 m
- Altitude
- c. 500 – 1,700 m
- Leaves
- opposite, narrow, aromatic
- Fruit
- red to purple berry
- Myrtle family
- Aromatic
- Streamside
- Fruit for birds
Altitude rangeFrom ravine to slope
Foothill and montane forest It grows in Tucumán's foothill and montane forests, especially along streams and at forest edges.
EcologyFlowers for insects, fruit for birds
- Beesgather pollen from the stamens
- Fleshy berriesfood for fruit-eating birds
- Tucumán Amazoneats myrtle-family fruit
- Moist soilsstream banks and ravines
Birds swallow the berries and drop the seeds away from the tree, often along streams.
Life cycleWhite flowers, dark berries
- Evergreen. It keeps its narrow leaves all year.
- Flowers full of stamens. The white flowers look like pompoms because of their long stamens.
- Berries that change colour. They turn from green to red and then dark purple as they ripen.
Where to look in Tucumán- Reserva Experimental Horco Molle
- Sierra de San Javier
- Quebrada de Lules
- Parque Provincial La Florida
- Río Los Sosa