''Kageneckia oblonga'' (also known as Bollen) is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

in the family

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

. It is endemic to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. ''K. oblonga'' is an evergreen tree. It grows from

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than ...

to Malleco (29 to 38°S). Example occurrences are found specifically found in central

within the

La Campana National Park La Campana National Park is located in the Cordillera de la Costa, Quillota Province, in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. La Campana National Park and the Vizcachas Mountains lie northwest of Santiago. This national park covers approximately and ...

and

Cerro La Campana Cerro la Campana, the Bell mountain, is a mountain in La Campana National Park in central Chile. The Pacific and the mountain Aconcagua are visible from the summit on clear days. Due to the area's expanding human population, considerable def ...

forest areas. In these areas the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

Chilean Wine Palm ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'' or ''Jubaea spectabilis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and i ...

, ''

Jubaea chilensis ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'' or ''Jubaea spectabilis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and i ...

'' is an associated tree species.C. Michael Hogan. 2008

Description

It is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

small tree or shrub that measures up to 5 m (16 ft) tall, the leaves are alternate, very leathery, with toothed edge and oblong shaped, the leaves are

petiolate Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, a ...

, yellowish-green, about 3–6 cm long. The flowers are unisexual star-shaped and white, solitary or clustered in axillary

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s. The calyx is formed by 5

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s, the corolla is made up by 5 petals. The male ones have 15-20

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s. The fruit is a pentamerous star-shaped capsule, about 2–3 cm in diameter. The seeds are winged.

Uses

The wood is very hard and it is used for elaborating tools, in traditional medicine it is used as emetic and laxative.

Etymology

Kageneckia in honour of ''Frederick von Kageneck'', Austrian ambassador to Madrid. Oblonga refers to the shape of the leaves.

References

*C. Michael Hogan. 2008
''Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
*Torrey Botanical Club. 1905. ''Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club''

External links

* * {{taxonbar , from=Q9017042 oblonga Trees of Chile