Barnadesia aculeata is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is endemic to Ecuador, where it occurs in the central Andes. It grows in mountain shrubland above 2000 meters in elevation. It is vulnerable to habitat destruction.
First described by George Bentham in 1844, it was viewed as a variety of Barnadesia corymbosa based on previous records near Loja, Ecuador. In 1965, it was reconsidered a species by In-Cho Chung in his revision of the genus Barnadesia. The genus Barnadesia consists of 23 species tied to shrub-based plants characterized by axillary spines, unique trichomes, and psilolophate pollen, with B. aculeata showing the group's adaptation to high-altitude, wet tropical environments in the norther Andes.
Barnadesia aculeata is distributed in the central and southern Andean regions of Ecuador, specifically occurring in the provinces of Azuay, BolÃÂvar, Chimborazo, and Loja, among others, in the Andean Cordillera. The species is known to reside in mountainous regions elevated between 2,000 and 3,500 meters, primarily in high-altitude shrublands. As of the 2003 IUCN assessment, there was no recorded evidence of the species expanding beyond its expected range, with the species remaining limited to fewer than 10 documented sites, showing its restricted distribution within the Andean region.