''Nothofagus alessandrii'', the ruil, 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 excl ...

in the family

Nothofagaceae ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Gui ...

, commonly known as the southern beeches. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

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 eas ...

, occurring chiefly in the

Chilean matorral The Chilean Matorral (NT1201) is a terrestrial ecoregion of central Chile, located on the west coast of South America. It is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, part of the Neotropical realm. Matorral is typically charact ...

ecoregion. It is threatened by

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 species is protected within Los Ruiles National Reserve.

Description

This is a deciduous tree with a straight, gray trunk that can measure up to 30 metres tall. Its leaves are ovate, ovate-cordate or lanceolate in shape, with conspicuous primary veins and serrated edges. The greenish flowers are unisexual and inconspicuous.

Distribution

The ruil grows between 37º 05' and 37º 50' south latitude, in the provinces of

Talca Talca () is a city and commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the city had a population of 201,142. The city is an importan ...

and

Cauquenes Cauquenes, a city and commune in Chile, is the capital of the Cauquenes Province and is located in the Maule Region. History According to the historical records of Alonso de Ercilla, Cauquenes was originally inhabited by an indigenous community o ...

, in an area of about 100 square kilometres, but in a total area in 1991 totaled over 3.5 km2. According to 1988 studies, the species is scattered in about 185 land-holdings, each of which have one or two hectares and are surrounded by commercial plantations of '' Pinus radiata'' (an introduced species), and agricultural croplands and livestock for survival, hindering the expansion of its habitat. The only place where the species is protected by the state is the National Reserve Ruiles created for the express purpose of protecting it.

Hybrids

* Ruil hybridises with the

red beech Red beech is a common name applied to several species of trees: *'' Dillenia alata'', native to Northern Australia and New Guinea *'' Fuscospora fusca'', native to New Zealand *'' Protorhus longifolia'', native to South Africa {{Plant common n ...

tree (''Nothofagus fusca'') from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

to form the hybrid species ''Nothofagus × eugenananus''.

Sources

* C. Michael Hogan & World Wildlife Fund. 2013
Chilean matorral. ed. M.McGinley. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment
Washington DC

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q1333877, from2=Q15377654, from3=Q42742862 Nothofagaceae Endemic flora of Chile Chilean Matorral Critically endangered plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot