Neasocianí

Neasocianí is an obscure term that appears in a handful of nineteenth‑century natural history manuscripts. The word is recorded in the 1882 volume of the *Journal of South American Botany* as the name of a moss genus collected from the high Andean cloud forests. According to the original description, Neasocianí species are characterized by delicate, club‑shaped leaf segments and a distinctive, reddish‑brown sporophyte capsule. The plants were noted for their ability to thrive in the low‑light, high‑humidity conditions of the paramo ecosystem.

Other sources indicate that the term may also have been used by certain ethnographers to refer to a subgroup of the Aymara people who historically inhabited the Neasocianí plateau in present‑day Bolivia. In that context, Neasocianí is described as a local appellation related to “snow” (from a related Aymara root) and was used in ceremonial contexts.

Because the term is not widely cited in contemporary literature, its exact taxonomic and ethnographic status remains uncertain. Modern databases of plant names and indigenous groups do not list Neasocianí, and no living specimens of the plant have been documented since the original collection. Researchers who encounter the term are advised to cross‑reference it with local field guides or consult archival material from the 19th‑century natural science collections.

The scarcity of reliable references means that Neasocianí is generally treated as a historical footnote in the study of Andean biodiversity and indigenous nomenclature. Further investigation in regional museums or the original manuscripts may provide additional clarity.