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E-mail: font@focusonnature.com
Phone: Toll-free in USA 1-8
88-721-3555
 or 302/529-1876

 

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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