National arms within a circle, date below.

Peruvian coat of arms consisting of three elements: the top left section shows the vicuña, the national animal, representing the fauna of Peru; the tree in the top right section is the cinchona tree (the source of quinine, a powerful anti-malarial drug and the key flavorant in tonic water), representing the national flora; and the bottom cornucopia with coins spilling from it, represents the mineral resources of the country. It has a palm branch on its left and an laurel one on its right, tied by a ribbon, as well as a Holm oak Civic Crown above it. These represent God, gold, and glory.

Value to right of vicuña.

The vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) or vicuna is one of the two wild South American camelids which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes, the other being the guanaco. Vicuñas are relatives of the llama and are now believed to be the wild ancestor of domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their coats. Vicuñas produce small amounts of extremely fine wool, which is very expensive because the animal can only be shorn every three years and has to be caught from the wild. When knitted together, the product of the vicuña's wool is very soft and warm. The Inca valued vicuñas highly for their wool, and it was against the law for anyone but royalty to wear vicuña garments; today, the vicuña is the national animal of Peru and appears in the Peruvian coat of arms.