Arcytophyllum thymifolium

Native from Colombia to Peru, this low-growing shrub forms dense cushions of woody stems and small leaves. In Ecuador, it grows in dry scrub and páramo vegetation between about 4,900 and 14,800 feet, including sites with poor soils. Its white flowers have four spreading lobes, sometimes marked with purple. Around Quito, flowering occurs during the rainy months from October to May. The fruits are small dry capsules that split open. Local people use the branches as brooms and the plant as livestock forage. Photographed in Ecuador.