''Nothofagus pumilio'', the lenga beech (from the

Mapuche language Mapuche ( , ; from 'land' and 'people', meaning 'the people of the land') or Mapudungun (from 'land' and 'speak, speech', meaning 'the speech of the land'; also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu) is either a language isolate or member of the sm ...

), is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree or shrub in the

Nothofagaceae ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...

family that is native to the southern

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

range, in the temperate forests of Chile and Argentina to

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

, from 35° to 56° South latitude. This tree is in the same genus as the

coihue ''Nothofagus dombeyi'', Dombey's beech, coigue, coihue or coigüe (from Mapudungun ''koywe'') is a tree species native to southern Chile and the Andean parts of Argentine Patagonia. It is a fast-growing species that can live in a wide range of ...

. It regenerates easily after fires. The

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

is of good quality, moderate durability, and is easy to work with. It is used in furniture, shingles and construction and sometimes as a substitute for American

black cherry ''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub in the r ...

in the manufacturing of cabinets.

Description

In southern

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

it grows to a height of up to 30 m (100 ft), and attains a trunk diameter of 1.5 m (5 ft). In more northern regions it grows only at heights above 1000 meters (3300 ft) in the form of a shrub. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are dark green, elliptic toothed and 2–4 cm long, with irregularly lobed margins, and turn to yellow and reddish tones in autumn. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a small nut 4–7 mm long.

Occurrence

The lenga beech can be found in the

Torres del Paine National Park Torres del Paine National Park () is a national park encompassing mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers in southern Chilean Patagonia. The Cordillera del Paine is the park's centerpiece. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic subpo ...

, Tierra del Fuego National Park,

Los Alerces National Park Los Alerces National Park () is located in the Andes in Chubut Province in the Patagonian region of Argentina. Its western boundary coincides with the Chilean border. Successive glaciations have molded the landscape in the region creating spect ...

and

Nahuel Huapi National Park Nahuel Huapi National Park () is the oldest National Parks of Argentina, national park in Argentina, established in 1922 as Parque Nacional de Sud and reconfiguered in 1934. It surrounds Nahuel Huapi Lake in the foothills of the Patagonian Andes. ...

among other places. In its southerly range it occurs in dense stands as far south as

Navarino Island Navarino Island () is a large Chilean island, with an area of and a coastline of . It is located between Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, to the north, and Cape Horn, to the south. The island forms part of the Communes of Chile, Commune of Cabo ...

.C. Michael Hogan, 2008 It grows in areas with low temperatures and abundant snow; therefore, in the north half of its distribution it is found only in the

Range and at sea level on its southernmost natural environment. It tolerates temperatures −30 °C (−22 °F) and lower, and frosts all seasons of the year.

Gallery

File:Lenga beech (Nothofagus pumilio) summer leaves.jpg, Summer leaves, Cerro Castillo reserve File:BosqLenga1.jpg, Lenga forest, Aysén Region, Chile File:Picada al Frey 048.jpg, Fall lenga leaves, Cerro Catedral, Bariloche, Argentina

Line notes

* C. Donoso. 2005. Árboles nativos de Chile. Guía de reconocimiento. Edición 4. Marisa Cuneo Ediciones,

Valdivia, Chile Valdivia (; Mapuche language, Mapuche: Ainil) is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Southern Chile, southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its Organizational founder, ...

. 136p. *

Adriana Hoffmann Adriana Elisabeth Hoffmann Jacoby (29 January 1940 – 20 March 2022) was a Chilean botanist, environmentalist and author. She was executive secretary of Chile's National Environment Commission (, CONAMA) from 2000 to 2001. She advocated for th ...

. 1998. Flora Silvestre de Chile, Zona Central. Edición 4. Fundación Claudio Gay, Santiago. 254p. *C. Michael Hogan. 200
''Bahia Wulaia Dome Middens'', Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham
*Rodríguez, R. & Quezada, M. 2003. Fagaceae. En C. Marticorena y R. Rodríguez ds. Flora de Chile Vol. 2(2), pp 64–76. Universidad de Concepción, Concepción. * *

References

External links

*
''Nothofagus pumilio'': notes by S. Teillier for a course in Systematic Botany, Universidad Central de Santiago de Chile
(Spanish) Nothofagaceae Flora of central Chile Flora of southern Chile Flora of South Argentina Trees of mild maritime climate Trees of subpolar oceanic climate Garden plants of South America Ornamental trees Fagales of Argentina Fagales of Chile {{Fagales-stub