Question #2

In 1802 Hippolyto Ruiz and Josepho Pavon, plant collectors in South America, published their Flora Peruviana et Chilensis. Describing Lapageria rosea, they say, 'There is no question whatever', 'that the copihue is considered the most beautiful flower in our Flora. The intense red of its hanging flowers sparkle amid the dark leaves of the forests, making a proud adornment to our woods; it is for this reason that it has been given the honour of being our national flower. The Latin description of the flower is penduli, formosissimi: corolla rosea, aliquando roseo-puniceo, intus punctis albis, maculata.

'The flowers are sold in autumn in branches backed with fern leaves, in the resorts of the south and taken to the markets of the principal cities [of Chile]. This lovely flower makes quite a profitable income for innumerable small peasant communities.

'The fruits, sweet and tender, called "cucumbers", are edible and have a most agreeable flavour; they are sold in great quantities in the towns in the south. The roots are used as a substitute for sarsaparilla (Smilax sarsaprilla); unfortunately this habit is already beginning to endanger the species."

LAPAGERIA-JOSEPHINE'S CHILEAN BELLFLOWER by Christian Lamb

Photograph thanks to Victor Kabath Portillo, from Chile, by Hans Storandt, published by Storandt, Silva y Cia, Ltda, Santiago, 1967