La Llareta #0308-23B26 is a photograph that is part of Rachel Sussman’s project to document some of the oldest living organisms on Earth. In this photograph Sussman captured the Llareta plant from the Andes Mountains in South America. While the plant in her photograph looks like some kind of moss or mold covering rocks, it is actually more similar to a bush with the visible green part being a “dense collection of tens of thousands of flowering buds at the ends of long stems, so densely packed, they create a compact surface” (Krulwich). The Llareta plant is especially interesting because some specimens are over 3,000 years old, which is what attracted Sussman to photograph them as a part of her collection. Sussman’s project to record these extremely old organisms is helping to spread knowledge about such fascinating plants as the Llareta. Photographing these organisms allows her to spread knowledge to many people who otherwise would never learn about them.

I found it especially interesting how different the Llareta plant is from any other plants I have seen before. The pure vibrancy of the bright green plant in the midst of the mostly dull landscape shown in Sussman’s photograph and the intriguing round shape of the Llareta drew my attention. To find out more, I read Robert Krulwich’s article “Intriguing Lime-Green Blobs Appear In The Andes Mountains. Are They Alive?” about the Llareta plant. I discovered that the Llareta plant grows extremely slowly, only about one meter per century and that the Atacama desert where the Llareta plant is grows is not only one of the driest places on Earth but also one of the highest, up to 15,000 feet above sea level. I cannot imagine how the Llareta manages to survive in such unfavorable conditions. If Sussman’s photograph had not grabbed my attention, I would not have learned about this incredible plant. In this way she is spreading knowledge about organisms like the Llareta: by grabbing the public’s attention with a fascinating photograph like La Llareta #0308-23B26 and encouraging them to learn more.