Syn.: Plantago rigens Willd. ex Schult., Plantago rigida var. angustior Pilg., Plantago rigida var. pusilla Wedd., Plantago rigidiuscula D. Dietr.
Family: Plantaginaceae Juss.
Distribution: This Andean species occurs in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
Ecology: It grows in grasslands, on rocky slopes, in páramo and puna, at elevations from 3000 up to 4500 m asl.
Description: Perennial herb, densely pulvinate, composed of many small rosettes. Leaves in basal rosettes, linear-lanceolate, 1–2 cm long, rigid, lustrous. Spikes reduced to a solitary flower, peduncle short, bract enclosing the calyx, sepals lanceolate, 6 mm long, corolla tube narrow, 6–8 mm long. The fruit is a capsule.
These images were taken in Peru, Huascarán NP, Lake Churup (August 14, 2006).
