''Eucryphia cordifolia'', the ulmo, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of tree in the family

Cunoniaceae Cunoniaceae is a family of 27 genera and about 335 species of woody plants in the order Oxalidales, mostly found in the tropical and wet temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere. The greatest diversity of genera are in Australia and Tasmania ...

. It is found in

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 ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It is threatened by logging and

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. The natural habitat is along the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

Range from 38 to 43°S, and up to 700 meters (2300 ft) above sea level. It is a very elegant tree with a thick trunk and wide crown and can become over high. It blooms in February and March, depending on latitude and altitude. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a capsule about 1.5 cm (0.6 in) length.

Cultivation and uses

Its flowers contain a highly appreciated aromatic nectar, harvested by introduced European bees and commercialized as ulmo honey (''miel de Ulmo''). The wood is light brown to brown, heavy, moderately firm, rather hard and quite resistant to decay. It is used locally for construction and very extensively as firewood. It grows well on the western coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, UK, where there are several notable specimens, including possibly the most northerly cultivated example at

Inverewe Garden Inverewe Garden is a botanical garden in the Scottish Highlands. It is located just to the north of Poolewe in Wester Ross, and is noted for the breadth of its collection. The garden was created from barren land in 1862 by Osgood Mackenzie on t ...

. It dislikes cold winters. It can also be found in southern England and the island of Ireland. It has been planted in the North Pacific Coast of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Chemical composition

Eucryphin, a chromone rhamnoside, can be isolated from the bark of ''E. cordifolia''.Eucryphin, a new chromone rhamnoside from the bark of Eucryphia cordifolia. R. Tschesche, S. Delhvi, S. Sepulveda and E. Breitmaier, Phytochemistry, Volume 18, Issue 5, 1979, pages 867-869,

References

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External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1072851 cordifolia Flora of the Andes Flora of Argentina Flora of Chile Trees of mild maritime climate Trees of Chile Valdivian temperate rainforest Near threatened flora of South America Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles