''Nothofagus betuloides'', Magellan's beech or ''guindo'', is a tree native to 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 ...

. In 1769,

Sir Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James Co ...

collected a

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

of the tree in

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 ...

during

Captain Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

's first voyage. Its occurrence on Hornos Island earns it the distinction of being the southernmost tree on Earth.

Distribution

''Nothofagus betuloides'' grows from southern

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 southern

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 ...

(40°S) to Tierra del Fuego (56°S). It is found from sea level to above mean sea level. One specimen growing near the southeastern corner of Hornos Island (

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

) was identified in 2019 as the southernmost tree in the world.

Description

It is an evergreen tree up to tall, with a branching reaching appearance. In its natural Patagonian environment, it tolerates cold winters and thrives in the absence of heat, but it is not tolerant of persistent freezing. In the exposed sites of its southerly coastal or Andean distribution, the species grows as a wind formed shrub.

Cultivation

''Nothofagus betuloides'' has been cultivated in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

, and has grown well there. Trees planted in the Faroe Islands, which were imported directly from its southernmost distribution in Tierra del Fuego, have turned out to be very hardy.Højgaard, A., J. Jóhansen, and S. Ødum (eds) 1989. A century of tree planting in the Faroe Islands. Føroya Fróðskaparfelag, Tórshavn. The wood has beautiful marks, and is pinkish, hard, and semiheavy; it is used in furniture and construction. File:NothofagusBetuloides2.jpg, Illustration from specimens collected by the ''Endeavour'', Tierra del Fuego, 1769 File:Flora Antarctica Plate CXXIV.jpg, ''Fagus betuloides'' in

Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For 20 years he served as director of the Ro ...

's '' Flora Antarctica'' 1844–1846, from the

Ross expedition The Ross expedition was a voyage of scientific exploration of the Antarctic in 1839 to 1843, led by James Clark Ross, with two unusually strong warships, HMS Erebus (1826), HMS ''Erebus'' and HMS Terror (1813), HMS ''Terror''. It explored what i ...

of 1839–1843

References

* Donoso, C. 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. * Hoffmann, Adriana. 1998. Flora Silvestre de Chile, Zona Central. Edición 4. Fundación Claudio Gay, Santiago. 254p. *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. * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q726488 Nothofagaceae 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 Flora of the Valdivian temperate forests