Cantua buxifolia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cantua buxifolia |
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| Cantutas in the garden of Qurikancha (today's Convento Santo Domingo) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Cantua
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| Species: |
buxifolia
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The Cantuta (scientific name: Cantua buxifolia) is a beautiful flowering plant that grows high up in the Andes mountains in South America. It's also known as the Peruvian magic tree or qantu in the Quechua language. This amazing plant is an evergreen shrub, meaning it stays green all year round. It can grow up to 4 meters (about 13 feet) tall and 2.5 meters (about 8 feet) wide. In early spring, it shows off clusters of bright pink, tube-shaped flowers.
The Cantuta is very special because it's the national flower of Peru. It's also one of two national flowers of Bolivia. The other is the patujú flower. The Bolivian Cantuta is a special type called qantuta tricolor. Its petals are red, its flower tube is yellow, and the green part at the bottom (called the calyx) is green. These colors match the national flag!
The scientific name buxifolia means "with leaves like Buxus (boxwood)". This plant likes places where the temperature doesn't drop below -5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit). If it's colder than that, people usually grow it indoors in a greenhouse. But they can move it outside during the summer. The Cantuta has even won an award called the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit for being a great garden plant.
The Inca Legend of the Cantuta Flower
There's an old Inca story about the Cantuta flower. It tells of two powerful kings, Illimani and Illampu. They ruled a huge land in the Qullasuyu region, which is now part of Bolivia. Both kings had sons they loved very much, and everyone respected these sons.
Over time, the kings became jealous of each other's success. Eventually, one king attacked the other. During the battle, both kings were badly hurt and later died. Before they passed away, each king made his son promise to get revenge. Even though the sons didn't want the war, they felt bound by their promise.
So, the sons prepared for a second war, even though they didn't dislike each other. Just like their fathers, both sons were fatally wounded in the fight. But instead of angry words, the dying sons forgave each other. They asked their helpers to lay them side by side on the battlefield's green grass.
Then, Pachamama, the goddess of nature and farming, appeared. She told the young kings that they shouldn't have suffered because of their fathers' unfair fight. To punish their fathers, their stars fell from the sky. These stars became the snow-covered mountains we still call Illimani and Illampu today. These are some of the highest peaks in Bolivia.
The rivers that flow from their melting snow are like their tears of regret. These rivers make the valleys fertile. The Cantuta flower itself stands for the unity of the people. Its colors – red and yellow – represent the two kings' sons. The green color represents hope for the future.
Common Names for the Cantuta
The Cantuta flower has many different names. Some common names include:
- flor del Inca (which means "flower of the Inca" in Spanish)
- magic-flower
- magic-flower-of-the-Incas
- magictree
- sacred-flower-of-the-Incas
See also
In Spanish: Cantuta para niños
