''Geoffroea decorticans'', the chañar, kumbaru, or Chilean palo verde (green wood), is a small deciduous tree, up to 8 meters (25 ft) tall that inhabits most arid forests (montes or espinales) of southern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. The chañar is cold and drought deciduous; it loses its leaves in winter, and possibly in summer if conditions get too dry. It is natural to Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, also present in Paraguay and southern Peru. It is a very characteristic tree in local culture and folk because of its vivid visual presence, propagation, and ancient ethnomedical uses.

Morphology

The common name Chilean palo verde comes from the mottled green color of the trunks but does not seriously resemble '' Cercidium''. The chañar tends to be quite upright with a spreading canopy with both straight and mildly curving trunks. As trees mature the trunks and branches take on a sculptural quality with long longitudinal, irregular ridges and valleys. Along with this undulating trunk, large flakes of the bark peel off or decorticate (hence the species name ''decorticans''). The peeling tan to brown bark is eventually shed revealing the dark green, "immature" trunk beneath. The contrasting colors and textures created by this puzzle-piece pattern make the tree visually fascinating. The flowers are very visible, small, papery and yellow-coloured. The tree flowers in spring, either singly or in clusters. ''Geoffroea decorticans'' is unique among

legumes Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consu ...

in that it produces fleshy, oval pods that hold a single seed. Fruit are initially green but turn deep orange as they mature.

Distribution and habitat

The tree inhabits dry to arid spiniferous forests in a rather broad area of southern South America which extends mainly through I to IV regions of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and central and northern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and throughout highland

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, though it is also found in Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Its companions conforming the forest are usually '' algarrobos'', '' quebrachos'', and the related and very abundant cavens. The species is in some areas associated with

woody plant encroachment Woody plant encroachment (also called woody encroachment, bush encroachment, shrub encroachment, shrubification, woody plant proliferation, or bush thickening) is a natural phenomenon characterised by the area expansion and density increase of ...

. In Chile, ''G. decorticans'' grows in USDA climate zones 8b to 10, and withstands short frosts as low as –13 °C. The latter is the record low temperature for Santiago del Estero, Argentina, where ''G. decorticans'' occurs naturally. It is adapted to desert conditions and can withstand temperatures in excess of 40 °C.

Usage

The seeds and fruit, being edible, are valued as human and animal feed, and the yellow wood is suitable for carpentry and furniture making once dry. It is also used as fuel and to make cheap posts for fences. The fruits are very commonly used for both culinary and medical purposes in the processed form of chañar arrope. Extremely sweet, dark and thick, this is very similar to

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

or vegetable

molasses Molasses () is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction, and the age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usuall ...

and is used in their place. It is locally known to alleviate sore throats and coughing.Cocina regional del norte argentino
turismosalta.gov.ar

References

External links

* *Pictures and information o
Faboidae NotesImage of ''G. decorticans'' branch - sample stored at FieldMuseum (Chicago)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2716561 Dalbergieae Trees of Argentina Trees of Chile Flora of the Chilean Matorral Flora of northern Chile Atacama Desert Drought-tolerant trees Trees of Bolivia Trees of Peru Trees of Uruguay Trees of Paraguay Gran Chaco