''Polylepis australis'', also known locally as tabaquillo or queñoa is a tree

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

of central

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 ...

, member of the family

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus '' Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but som ...

. The genus ''Polylepis'' originated in the eastern Andean forests of eastern South America.

Description

The plant has small,

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...

leaves, 7–10 cm long, normally composed of five or seven leaflets. In harsh winters, ''Polylepis australis'' survives by producing rolls of loose, papery like exfoliating brownish bark; the rough outer covering of the woody stem of tree.

Range and habitat

''Polylepis australis'' is native to the

Sierras Pampeanas The Sierras Pampeanas (also called Central Sierras or Pampas Sierras) (English: Pampas Mountains) is a geographical region of Argentina. The Sierras Pampeanas are a chain of mountains that rise sharply from the surrounding pampa region of N ...

, a series of north–south-running ranges on the eastern side of the

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 ...

in north-central Argentina, in the provinces of Catamarca, Córdoba,

Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

, and Tucumán. It occurs from 1200 to 2900 meters elevation, most commonly in high-elevation forests and woodlands. The southernmost stands of ''Polylepis australis'' are located in the high Córdoba Mountains of central Argentina (1,200–2,884 m above sea level). South American ''

Polylepis ''Polylepis'' is a genus comprising 28 recognised shrub and tree species, that are endemic to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes, up to above sea level. It is distributed from Venezuela to Patagonia. In Peru, plants in the ...

'' mountain forests are recognised as being one of the most

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

forest ecosystems in the world. During a

reforestation Reforestation is the practice of restoring previously existing forests and woodlands that have been destroyed or damaged. The prior forest destruction might have happened through deforestation, clearcutting or wildfires. Three important purpose ...

project, D. Renison ( University of Córdoba, Argentina) found that the

germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, ...

of ''Polylepis australis'' stands decreases significantly with decreasing tree coverage. The first results of additional studies carried out in collaboration with Isabell Hensen (

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

, Germany) indicate that a clear negative correlation exists between the viability of seeds of ''Polylepis australis'' and the degree of human influence on the woodland stands. Seeds of ''Polylepis australis'' exhibited a great variation in terms of mass and percent seed germination among individual trees and among geographical regions.

Gallery

Polylepis australis at Dundee Botanic Garden 2.jpg, ''Polylepis australis'' Polylepis australis at Dundee Botanic Garden.jpg, ''Polylepis australis'' Polylepis australis leaves at Dundee Botanic Garden.jpg, ''Polylepis australis'' leaves Polylepis australis leaves at Dundee Botanic Garden 2.jpg, ''Polylepis australis'' leaves Polylepis australis trunk at Dundee Botanic Garden.jpg, ''Polylepis australis'' trunk Polylepis australis trunk at Dundee Botanic Garden 2.jpg, ''Polylepis australis'' trunk Polylepis australis at Dundee Botanic Garden 3.jpg, ''Polylepis australis'' Polylepis australis at Dundee Botanic Garden 4.jpg, ''Polylepis australis'' Polylepis australis at Dundee Botanic Garden 6.jpg, ''Polylepis australis'' Polylepis australis at Dundee Botanic Garden 5.jpg, ''Polylepis australis''

References

{{taxonbar , from=Q541294 australis Endemic flora of Argentina Trees of Argentina Taxa named by Friedrich August Georg Bitter Flora of the Southern Andean Yungas