''Persea lingue'',

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

including ''Persea meyeniana'', is an evergreen tree or shrub in the laurel family (

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant Family (biology), family that includes the bay laurel, true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genus (biology), genera worldwide. They are dicotyled ...

), found in Argentina and Chile. It belongs to the genus ''Persea'', a group of evergreen trees including the avocado. ''P. lingue'' was historically used in leather production, and is currently threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

Description

''Persea lingue'' is an evergreen tree which grows up to 25 m tall.

Distribution and habitat

''Persea lingue'' is native to central and south Chile and south Argentina. It grows in coastal and mountain forests from sea level up to 2000 m elevation.

Use

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

its bark was once mentioned as ''cortex Lauri lingue'', medicinal action unknown. In the late 19th and early 20th century the bark of the tree which is rich in

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

s was used to produce leather. An industry based in

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder, Pedro de Valdivia, and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and ...

and led by German immigrants and

German-Chilean German Chileans (; ) are Chileans descended from German immigrants, about 30,000 of whom arrived in Chile between 1846 and 1914. Most of these were from traditionally Catholic Bavaria, Baden and the Rhineland, and also from Bohemia in the prese ...

s harvested the tree and exported the leather to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

. A decline of wild stands of ''Persea lingue'' and tariffs imposed by the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

in 1898 contributed in the decline of the leather industry of southern Chile.

Etymology

''Persea'' see

Persea ''Persea'' is a genus of about 111 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, ''P. americana'', widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible fruit. O ...

. ''Lingue'' from Lingue River in Chile, where it grows.

References

lingue Flora of Chile Flora of South Argentina Near threatened plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Flora of the Chilean Matorral Flora of the Valdivian temperate forests Taxa named by José Antonio Pavón Jiménez Taxa named by Hipólito Ruiz López {{Laurales-stub