Chile Plants 

with those during 
Focus On Nature Tours
noted with an (*) 

1990 thru 2015

during the months of October, 
November, & December



The following list compiled by Armas Hill 

Upper right photo: THRIFT, Armeria maritima, a plant of the Magellanic Moorland   
(photographed during a FONT tour by Cheryl Pearce) 


There have been 19 FONT birding & nature tours in Chile. 


The famed Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, was quoted as saying: 
"Who doesn't know the Chilean forest, doesn't know this planet". 

Araucaria Trees, Araucaria araucana
with a volcano in the background
during the FONT tour in southern Chile in November 2011
(photo by Frank Stermitz) 

      
Links:

Upcoming FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Chile     Upcoming FONT Tours Elsewhere

A List & Photo Gallery of Chile Birds, in 2 Parts    Mammals of Chile  (with some photos)

Amphibians & Reptiles in Chile  (with some photos)  

Other Photo Galleries & Lists of Plants

Directory of Photos in this Website

The great variety of climates and natural environments in the long, narrow country of Chile enables there to be a very diverse flora. There are over 4,600 known species of flowering plants in the country. 

In 1994, eight zones of vegetation were described, generally from north to south:

1 - desert 
2 - high Andean steppe 
3 - matorral and sclerophyll woodland 
4 - decidous woodland 
5 - Valdivian laurel-leaved forest 
6 - forest in the Patagonian Andes 
7 - Magellanic rainforest, bogs and moorland 
8 - Patagonian steppe   

The following are the Regions in Chile, from north to south

15 - Arica-Parinacota 
 1 -  Tarapaca
 2 -  Antofagasta
 3 -  Atacama
 4 -  Coquimbo
 5 -  Valparaiso
M - Metropolitano (the Santiago area)
 6 -  O'Higgins
 7 -  Maule
 7 -  Biobio
 8 -  Araucania
 9 -  Los Rios
10 - Los Lagos (including Chiloe Island)
11 - Aisen
12 - Magallanes

A List of the Diverse Plant-life of Chile by Region:

       
      Plants in the MEDITERRANEAN MATORRAL and SCLEROPHYLL FOREST 
       in central Chile, from the Coquimbo to the Biobio Region 

       Including scrubs on the semi-arid, sunny slopes of the Coastal Range  

1. Quisco  (*) ______   (WGC:42) 
   Echinopsis chiloensis
   Range: Coquimbo to Maule    
   
   The cactus, Quisco, grows to a height of 23 feet.
   
   
   
   
   A flower of the Quisco, photographed during the November 2011 FONT Tour in Chile
   (photo by Frank Stermitz) 
   
   
2. Chagual ______  (WGC:42)
   Puya berteroana & Puya chileensis
   Range: central Chile
   
   
3. Tebo (or Trevi) ______   (WGC:42)   
   Trevoa trinervis 
   Range: Valparaiso to Maule 
   
   Tebo worms, the larvae of the moth Chilecomadia moorei, feed on Tebo. They are used locally as fishing bait, and as food for reptiles, amphibians, and birds. 
   
   
4. Crucero  ______   (WGC:43)
   Colletia hystrix
   Range: Aconcagua to Valdivia
   
   
5. Espino  (*)  ______  (WGC:42)
   Acacia caven 
   Range: Atacama to Biobio
   
   
6. Coliguay  ______  (WGC:42)
   Colliguaja odorifera
   Range: Valparaiso to Los Lagos.
   
   
7. Boldo  ______   (WGC:43)
   Peumus boldus
   Range: Coquimbo to Los Lagos
   
   
8. Huingan  ______  (WGC:43)
   Schinus plygamus
   Range: Atacama to Valdivia
   
    
9. Molle  _____  (WGC:42)  (in the Family ANACARDIACEAE: Sapindales)
   Schinus latifolius  
   Range: Coquimbo to Maule 
   
   
10. Peumo  ______  (WGC:43)
    Cryptocarya alba
    Range: Coquimbo to Biobio
    
    
11. Quillay ______   (WGC:43)
    Quillaja saponaria 
    Range: Coquimbo to Biobio  
    
    
12. Litre ______  (WGC:42)
    Lithrea caustica
    Range: Coquimbo to Los Lagos
    
    
13. Belloto del Norte  ______  (WGC:43)
    Beilschmiedia miersii 
    Range: Valparaiso to O'Higgins
    
    
14. Arrayan  ______  (WGC:56)  (also in the VALDIVIAN & SIEMPREVERDE FORESTS in southern Chile)
    Luma apiculata 
    Range: O'Higgins to Chiloe  
    
    
15. Patagua  ______   (WGC:43) 
    Crinodendron patagua 
    Range: Valparaiso to Biobio
    
    
16. Lingue  ______    
    Persea lingue 
    
    
17. Maiten  ______    
    Maytenus boaria   
     
     
18. Chilean Willow  ______   (in the Family SALICACEEAE: Salicales)
    Salix chilensis 
    
    
19. Canelo  ______  
    Drimys winteri 
    
    
20. Chilean Palm  (*)  ______  (WGC:43)
    Jubaea chilensis
    Range: central Chile 
    
    Jubaea chilensis is the second southernmost palm in the world, after the Nikau Palm of New Zealand.  
    
    
21. Algarrobo  ______  (WGC:42)   
    Prosopis chilensis 
    Range: Atacama to Santiago
    
    
22. Guayacan  ______   (WGC:42) 
    Porlieria chilensis
    Range: Coquimbo to Santiago
    
    
23. Mitique  ______  (WGC:43)
    Podanthus mitiqui
    Range: Coquimbo to Concepcion
    
    
24. Lilen  ______  (WGC:43)
    Azara petiolaris
    Range: Coquimbo to Biobio
    
    
25. Chacay  ______  (WGC:43)
    Discaria serratifolia
    Range: Talca to Puerto Montt
    
    
26. Bollen (or Huayu)  ______  (WGC:43)
    Kageneckia oblonga
    Range: Coquimbo to Biobio
    
    
27. Jessamine (or Palgui)  ______  (WGC:43)
    Cestrum parqui 
    Range: Coquimbo to Concepcion
    
    
28. Mayu  ______  (WGC:43)
    Sophora macrocarpa
    Range: Coquimbo to Araucania
    
    
    Plants in the MEDITERRANEAN ANDES
    in central Chile, from the Atacama to Maule Regions
    
    Also plants of the HIGH ANDEAN STEPPE
    in the Puna & Altiplano: 
    
    
29. Espinillo (or Anahuilla)  ______   (WGC:39)
    Adesmia spinosissima   
    
    
30. Pingo-pingo  ______   (WGC:39) 
    Ephedra andina  
    
    
31. Yerba Blanca  ______  (WGC:39)
    Chuquiraga oppositifolia   
    
    
32. Quiaca  ______  (WGC:39)    
    Calandrinia compacta 
    
    
33. Quinoa  ______  (WGC:39)
    Chenopodium quinoa
    
    
34. Clavel del Campo (or Mutisia)  ______  (WGC:39)  
    Mutisia sinuata   
    
    
35. Llareta  ______  (WGC:39)
    Azorella compacta 
    
    
36. Quenoa  ______  (WGC:39)     
    Polylepis sp. 
    
    
37. Tola   ______  (WGC:39)   
    Baccharis sp. & Parastrephia sp.
    
    
    Plants of the DESERTS of northern Chile,
    including:
    the Coastal Desert
    the Absolute Desert
    the Andean Desert
    the Flowering Desert:
    
    
38. Candelabra Cactus (or Candelabro) (*)  ______  (WGC:35)
    Browningia candelaris 
    Range: Arica to Tarapaca
    
      
39. Cardon  ______  (WGC:35)     
    Echinopsis atacamensis
    Range: Arica to Antofagasta   
    
    
40. Quisquito  ______   (WGC:35)
    Neoportaria sp.   
    
    
41. Eulychnia sp. ______  (WGC:35)    
     
    
42. Copiapoa sp.  ______  (WGC:35)   
    
    
43. Copao coquimbensis  ______  (WGC:35)
    
    
44. Opuntia leoncito  ______  (WGC:35)  
    
    
45. Tillandsia landbecki  ______  (WGC:35)
    
    
46. Peppertree (or Pimiento) ______  (WGC:35)    
    Schinus molle   
    
    
47. Tamarugo  ______  (WGC:35)     
    Prosopis tamarugo  
    Range: Arica to Tarapaca 
    
    
48. Algarrobo Blanco  ______  (WGC:35)   
    Prosopis alba 
    Range: Arica to Antofagasta 
    
    
49. Tara ______  (WGC:35)
    Caesalpinia spinosa 
    Range: Arica to Coquimbo 
    
    
50. Carbonillo  ______  (WGC:35)   
    Cordia decandra
    Range: Atacama to Coquimbo  
    
    
51. Chanar ______  (WGC:35)
    Geoffroea decorticans
    Range: Arica to Coquimbo 
    
    
52. Pimiento (or Peppertree) ______  (WGC:35)  (in the Family ANACARDIACEAE: Sapindales)
    Schinus molle
    Range: Arica to Santiago 
    
    
53. Suspiro del Mar  ______  (WGC:37)
    Nolana paradoxa 
    
    
54. Pata de Guanaco  ______  (WGC:37)
    Cistanthe grandiflora 
    
    
55. Pajarito  ______  (WGC:37)
    Schizanthus sp.   
    
    
56. Flor del Minero  ______  (WGC:37)
    Centauria chilensis 
    
    
57. Don Diego de la Noche  ______  (WGC:37)
    Oenothera acaulis 
    
    
58. Ananuca Roja  ______  (WGC:37)
    Rhodophilia phycelliodes 
    
    
59. Alstroemeria Arrepollada  ______  (WGC:37)
    Alstroemeria spathulata 
    
    
60. Lirio del Campo ______  (WGC:37)
    Alstroemeria magnifica  
    
    
61. Cuerno de Cabra  ______  (WGC:37) 
    Haplopappus foliosus   
    
    
62. Lion's Claw, or Garra de Leon  ______  (WGC:37)
    Leonthochir ovallei  
    
    
63. Spring Onion, or Huilli  ______  (WGC:37)
    Cleucocoryne ixiodes    
    
    
    Trees & Plants of the DECIDIUOUS, VALADIVIAN, SIEMPREVERDE, 
    and the ARAUCARIA FORESTS and MAGELLANIC RAINFOREST of southern Chile  
    
    The SOUTHERN BEECHES, in the genus NOTHOFAGUS, are actually both deciduous and evergreen.
    
    All in the Family FAGACEAE. 
    
    
    Deciduous NOTHOFAGUS: 
    
    
64. Roble  ______  (WGC:49)
    Nothofagus obliqua  
    Range: Va;paraiso to Los Lagos
     
    
65. Hualo  ______  (WGC:49)   
    Nothofagus glauca
    Range: Santiago to Biobio
    
    
66. Huala ______
    Nothofagus leonii
    
    
67. Rauli  ______  (WGC:49)
    Nothofagus nervosa 
    Range: Santiago to Biobio  
    
    
68. Ruil   ______  (WGC:49)   (a rare, endangered species)
    Nothofagus alessandrii 
    Range: Maule
    
    
69. Lenga  ______  (in higher COIGUE-RAULI-TEPA forest)
    Nothofagus pumilio 
    
    
70. Nirre  ______    
    Nothofagus antarctica
    
    
    Perennial NOTHOFAGUS, that keep their leaves year-round:
      
    
71. Coigue (or Coihue)  ______  (WGC:49)  (in COIGUE-RAULI-TEPA forest)  
    Nothofagus dombeyi 
    Range: Santiago to Aisen
    
    
72. Coigue de Chiloe  (*)  ______  (WGC:57)  (in VALDIVIAN & SIEMPREVERDE forests)    
    Nothofagus nitida  
     
    
73. Coigue de Magallanes  ______  (WGC:59)  (in MAGELLANIC RAINFOREST)
    Nothofagus betuloides 
    
    
    Some Plants of the ROBLE-HUALO FOREST: 
    
    
74. Peumo   ______  
    Cryptocarya alba 
    
    
75. Maiten  ______  (WGC:48)  (in the Family CELASTRACEAE: Celastrales)    
    Maytenus boaria 
    Range: Atacama to Los Lagos  
     
    
76. Quillay  ______   
    Quillaja saponaria   
    
    
77. Litre  ______   (in the Family ANACARDIACEAE: Sapindales) 
    Lithrea caustica   
    
    
78. Canelo  (or Winter's Bark)   ______  (WGC:59)  (in the Family WINTERACEAE)  (also in COIGUE-RAULI-TEPA forest & MAGELLANIC RAINFOREST)
    Drimys winteri   
    Range: Coquimbo to Magellanes
    
    
79. Olivillo  ______  (also in COIGUE-RAULI-TEPA forest)
    Aextoxicon punctatum 
    
    
80. Lingue  ______  (WGC:56)  (in the Family LAURACEAE: Laurels)  (also in VALDIVIAN & SIEMPREVERDE forests)
    Persea lingue   
    
    
81. Long-leaved Manio  ______  (in the Family PODOCARPACEAE: Podocarps)
    Podocarpus saligna
    
    
    Some Other Plants of the ROBLE - RAULI - COIGUE FOREST:
    
    
82. Laurel  ______  (in the Family MONIMIACEAE: Laurels) 
    Laurelia sempervirens 
    
    
83. Avellano   ______  (WGC:56)  (in the Family PROTEACEAE: Proteales)  (also in VALDIVIAN & SIEMPREVERDE forests) 
    Gevuina avellana 
    
    
84. Ulmo  ______   (in the Family EUCRYPHIACEAE: Rosales) 
    Eucryphia cordifolia 
    
    
85. Short-leaved Manio  ______  (in the Family PODOCARPACEAE: Podocarps)  (also in COIGUE-RAULI-TEPA forest)
    Saxegothaea conspicua 
    
    
    Some Other Plants of the COIGUE - RAULI - TEPA FOREST (in addition to the NOTHOFAGUS species) 
    
    
86. Tepa   ______  (WGC: 49)  (in the Family MONIMIACEAE: Laurels)
    Laureliopsis (was Laurelia) philippiana
    Range: Araucania to Chiloe
    
    
87. Trevo ______  (WGC:56)  (also in VALDIVIAN & SIEMPREVERDE forests)
    Dasyphyllum diacanthoides
    
    
88. Tineo  ______
    Weinmannia trichosperma
    
    
89. Quila Bamboo  ______
    Chusquea quila
    
    
    Some CYPRESS TREES in Chile:
    
    
90. Cordilleran Cypress  ______  (in the Family CUPRESSACEAE)  (normally in pure, old-growth stands)
    Austrocedrus chilensis
    Range: in mountains of south-central Chile, more common in the Andes, but also at a few places in the Coastal Cordillera south of Concepcion. 
    
    
91. Guaitecas Cypress  (or Cipres de las Guaitercas)  ______  (WGC:54)  (in the Family CUPRESSACEAE)   (in VALDIVIAN & SIEMPREVERDE forests & MAGELLANIC RAINFOREST)
    Pilgerodendron uviferum
    Range: Valdivia to Tierra del Fuego
    
    
92. Alerce (or Patagonian Cypress, or Lahuan)  ______  (WGC:55)  (in the Family CUPRESSACEAE)  (in VALDIVIAN & SIEMPREVERDE forests)
    Fitzroya cupressoides
    Range: Valdivia and Los Lagos 
    
    An Alerce is the second oldest living tree species in the world, after the Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) in the western USA. One living Alerce tree in Chile is said to be over 3,600 years old.  
     
    
    Some Plants of the ARAUCARIA FOREST: 
    
    
93. Araucaria (or Pelhuen) (*)  ______  (WGC:51)  (in the Family ARAUCARIACEAE)   (occurs homogeneously or with Lenga in higher Andean elevations)
    Araucaria araucana 
    Range: Araucania and Biobio
    
    Araucaria trees were among the earliest of seed-bearing plants. Fossils have been carbon-dated back to the Mesozoic Age. During the Jurassic Period, 180 million years ago, they were food for sauropods.   
    
    Araucaria araucana grows to 165 feet. It lives over 1500 years, and takes more than 20 years to bear seeds. 
    
    Another Araucaria species occurs in southeast Brazil, Araucaria angustifolia. One that was in Patagonia is now extinct: Araucaria mirabilis.
    Outside South America, some Araucaria species are also in Australia, New guinea, New Caledonia. Some species, now extinct, were in Japan.
    
    
    
    
    An Araucaria Forest in southern Chile
    (photo by Frank Stermitz, during the FONT Chile Tour in November 2011)    
    
    Araucarias begin to bear fruit at about 25 years of age. The male cones appear in August, the female cones (as in the photo below) in November.
    Nuts are gathered from March to May. The ivory-colored nuts are eaten raw, roasted, or boiled. Bread flour is ground with a flat friction mill. A drink called chavid is made by fermenting the nuts. Some Araucaria seeds are roasted in stone-heated pits, and some are strung into necklaces called menken.   
    
    
      
    
    Female Araucaria Cones
    (photo by Frank Stermitz, during the FONT Chile Tour in November 2011)
    
    
94. Michay  ______  (WGC:51)  (in the Family BERBERIDACEAE: Barberries)
    Berberis darwinii 
    Range: Biobio to Aisen  
    
    
95. Calafate ______  (WGC:51)  (in the Family BERBERIDACEAE: Barberries)
    Saxifraga rivularis 
    Range: araucaria to Magallenes
    
    
96. Alstroemeria  ______  (WGC:51)
    Saxifraga nivalis  
    Range: Nahuelbuta 
      
    
97. Chilean Bamboo (*)  ______  (WGC:51)
    Cerastium fontanum 
    Range: Maule to Aisen
    
    
98. Canelo Enamo  ______  (WGC:51)     
    Spergula arvensis 
    Range: in the Andes from Araucaria to Los Lagos
    
    
99. Wild Current  ______  (WGC:51)
    Arenaria norvegica   
    Range: Valparaiso to Magallenes
    
    
100. Wild Strawberry  (or Frutilla silvestre or Lahuene)  ______    (WGC:51)
     Honckenya peploides 
     Range: Nuble to Aisen
     
     
     Some Trees & Other Plants of the VALDIVIAN and SIEMPREVERDE FORESTS:
     
     
101. Nalca (or Pangue)  ______  (WGC:57)  (in the Family GUNNERACEAE: Haloragidales)
     Gunnera tinctoria 
     Range: Coquimbo to Magallanes
     
     
     
     
     The Nalca, or Pangue, photographed on Chiloe Island 
     during the FONT Chile Tour in November 2011    
     (photo by Frank Stermitz)
     
     
102. Quil-quil  (a fern)  ______  (WGC:57) 
     Blechnum hastatum
     
     
103. Canelilla  ______  (WGC:57)
     Hydrangea integerrima
     
     
104. Estrellita  ______  (WGC:57)
     Asteranthera ovata
     
     
105. Botellita  ______  (WGC:57)
     Mitraria coccinea
     
     
106. Medallita  ______  (WGC:57)
     Sarmienta repens
     
     
107. Morta Blanca  ______  (WGC:57)
     Ugni candollei
     
     
108. Polizonte (or Chaquihue)  ______  (WGC:57)
     Crinodendron hookeranum
     
     
109. Coicopihue  ______  (WGC:57)
     Philesia magellanica
     
     
110. Copihue  ______  (WGC:57)
     Lapageria rosea 
     Range: Valparaiso to Osorno
     
     The Copihue is Chile's national flower. 
     
     
     Some Plants of the MAGELLANIC RAINFOREST  (in addition to the Magellanic Coigue):
     
     
111. Darwin's Bread  ______  (WGC:59)
     Cyttaria darwinii
     
     
112. Mistletoe  ______  (WGC:59)
     Misodendrum sp.
     
     
113. Old Man's Beard  ______  (WGC:59)
     Usnea sp.
     
     
114. Magellanic Maiten  ______  (WGC:59)
     Maytenus magellanica
     
     
115. Tepu  ______  (WGC:59)
     Tepualia stipularis
     
     
116. Sauco del Diablo  ______  (WGC:59)
     Pseudopanax laetevirens
     
     
117. Fuchsia  (or Chilco) (*)  ______  (WGC:59)  (in the Family ONAGRACEAE: Myrtales)  (in NOTHOFAGUS and DRUIMYS coastal forest)
     Fuchsia magellanica
     Range: Maule to Magellanes
     
     
118. Taique (or Chapico)  ______  (WGC:59)
     Desfontainea spinosa
     
     
119. Fuinque (or Romerillo)  ______  (WGC:59)
     Lomatia ferruginea
     
     
120. Notro  (or Firebrush) (*)  ______  (WGC:59)  (in the Family PROTEACEAE: Proteales)
     Embothrium coccineum
     Range: Maule to Magellanes
     
     
     Some Plants of the MAGELLANIC MOORLANDS and BOGS
     
     
121. Siete Camisas  ______  (WGC:61)
     Escallonia serrata
     
     
122. Sundew  (or Atrapomosca)  ______  (WGC:61)
     Drosera uniflora
     
     
123. Mountain Berry  (or Chaurita)  ______  (WGC:61)  (in the Family ERICACEAE: Ericales)
     Gaultheria antarctica
     
     
124. Swamp Berry  (or Mutilla or Chaura)  ______  (WGC:61)  (in the Family ERICACEAE: Ericales)
     Gaultheria pumila 
     
     Gaultheria pumila has small pink to white flowers, from Dec to Apr.
     
     
     
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