Kingdom Plantae Family Elaeocarpaceae Scientific name Crinodendron patagua | Order Oxalidales Genus Crinodendron Rank Species | |
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Similar Crinodendron, Cryptocarya alba, Eucryphia, Crinodendron hookerianum, Lithraea caustica | ||
Crinodendron patagua (Patagua) or (Lily of the valley tree), Evergreen tree that grows in Chile from 33° to 36° South latitude, up to 1200 m (4000 ft) above sea level in elevation. It lives in wet places and prefers ravines. An endangered associate tree is the Chilean Wine Palm, Jubaea chilensis, whose distribution was much wider prehistorically. This tree reaches a height up to 10 m (33 ft).
Leaves are simple, oblong with serrate margin. It produces white flowers with bell-shaped corolla of five petals, the fruit is a capsule which is orange-colored when mature.
Cultivation and uses
It is used for honey production purposes and is very important in that matter. The tannin contained in bark is used for tanning leather. The wood is used in furniture. It is used for reforestation. It is easy to cultivate, it can be planted by seeds and very fast-growing and tolerates frosts. It has been introduced successfully as ornamental in New Zealand, California, Northern Ireland, Scotland and some parts of England.
Etymology: Crinodendron (Greek: beautiful flowers’ tree) and patagua (mapuche name of the tree). Formerly named Tricuspidaria dependens Ruiz et Pav.
