''Metrosideros stipularis'' is a species of the
myrtle family commonly known as tepú, trepú, or tepual. It is an evergreen tree or shrub that can attain a height of about seven metres. The plant is native to 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 ...
in the southern portions 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
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 is a typical resident of very wet areas, especially
peat bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muske ...
s. Tepú has white flowers that emerge during the austral summer from January through March. The tree's wood is used within its range as a firewood due to it high energy content.
This species has often been placed in its own genus ''Tepualia'', but recent works include it in ''
Metrosideros
''Metrosideros'' is a genus of approximately 60 trees, shrubs, and vines in the family Myrtaceae, mostly found in the Pacific region. Most of the tree forms are small, but some are exceptionally large, the New Zealand species in particular. The ...
''.
References
External links
*
Description and photos at Enciclopedia de la Flora Chilena
stipularis
Flora of South Argentina
Flora of central Chile
Flora of southern Chile
Plants described in 1833
Taxa named by George Arnott Walker Arnott
Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker
{{Myrtaceae-stub