What Are These Blobs in the Andes? …. The llareta plant (pronounced yah-ray-ta) is a member of the Apiaceae family which means it is related to parsley, carrots, and fennel. It is found uniquely high up in the Andes and we found these examples at about 14,000 feet on a section of Ruta 40.

They look like blobs from a distance but are rock solid and feel almost like coral to the touch. They grow by absorbing what little humidity they find occasionally in the air. They also grow extremely slowly, maybe a centimeter per year. There are examples in this area that could have been there for 3000 years.

The ones that we found here are certainly old enough to have been growing before Queen Victoria was born.

Ain’t evolution wonderful?