Fabiana imbricata aka Pichi

Fabiana imbricata, also known as pichi, is a dense, mound-forming, evergreen shrub native to dry upland slopes in Chile and Argentina. It belongs to the Solanaceae family and can reach heights and widths of up to 2.5 meters. This frost-hardy plant has plume-like branches densely covered with dark green, needle-like leaves. In early summer, it produces small white to pale mauve tubular flowers along the stems. There is also a horticultural variety, F. imbricata f. violacea, which features masses of pale violet flowers and has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. F. imbricata is the type species for the Fabiana genus and is known for its traditional medicinal uses as a diuretic and digestive. Studies have shown its foliage to have a gastroprotective effect and there is ongoing interest in culturing the plant tissue to harvest secondary metabolites for further research. This long-lived shrub is widely distributed throughout South America, primarily through seed dispersal.