Cantua buxifolia
Andean shrub with pink flowers, national flower of Peru and Bolivia.
Cantua buxifolia, also called qantu, qantus, or qantuta, is an evergreen shrub native to the high valleys of the Yungas in the Andes mountains of western South America. It is the national flower of Peru and one of two national flowers of Bolivia, the other being the patujú. The plant produces clusters of brilliant pink, narrow tubular flowers in early spring and grows to 4 meters tall by 2.5 meters wide.
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- buxifolia
Facts from the source article.
Inca legend
The Inca legend of the cantua involves two kings named Illimani and Illampu, who ruled a vast country in the Qullasuyu region, now the Bolivian Altiplano. Each had a beloved son, but the kings grew irritated at each other's prosperity, and one attacked the other. In the battle both kings were mortally wounded, and on their deathbeds they made their sons vow revenge, even though the sons had opposed the war. The sons led a second war, and each inflicted a fatal wound on the other. Instead of harsh words, the dying sons forgave each other and asked to be placed side by side on the battlefield. The goddess Pachamama appeared and told them they should not have suffered from their fathers' unjustified enmity. To punish the dead fathers, their stars fell and became the snow-covered mountains Illimani and Illampu, among the highest peaks in Bolivia. The rivers from their melting snow are tears of regret that fertilize the valleys. The cantua bloom symbolizes the people's unity and bears the colors red and yellow, representing the two sons, and green for hope.
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