''Nothofagus nitida'' (Chiloé's coigue)
[ 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, whic ...
tree, native to southern Chile and Argentina.
Description
Up to 35 m (115 ft) height and 2 m (6.5 ft) diameter. The bark is gray. It prefers very wet soils.
Leaves are alternate between 1.5 and 3 cm, they are hard, glossy green, with a small petiole and lanceolate shape. The new borne twigs have little hairs.
Male flowers have a unique verticil with 6–10 stamens and are surrounded by tepals (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 coine ...
s and petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...
s just the same). Female flowers are grouped five by five, and pollination is mainly anemophilous. The flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...
s are homochlamyd, small (3 to 5 mm), unisexual, arranged in 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 forme ...
s.
Its 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 partic ...
s are small, flattened or triangular, yellowish in cupules made up by 2 to 7 units.
Uses
The wood is white-yellowish colored. It has beautiful engraving and it is used in furniture and construction.
References
* Donoso, Claudio. 2005. Árboles nativos de Chile. Guía de reconocimiento. Valdivia, Chile
* Hoffmann, Adriana, 1998. Flora Silvestre de Chile. Fundación Claudio Gay. Santiago.
External links
Encyclopedia of Chilean Flora: ''Nothofagus nitida''
Nothofagaceae
Flora of southern Chile
Flora of South Argentina
Trees of mild maritime climate
Trees of subpolar oceanic climate
{{Fagales-stub