Nothofagus alessandri

Nothofagus alessandrii (ruil) is a species of plant in the family Nothofagaceae, commonly known as the southern beeches. It is endemic to Chile, occurring chiefly in the Chilean matorral ecoregion. It is threatened by habitat loss. The species is protected within Los Ruiles National Reserve.

Nothofagus alessandri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Fagales
Family:
Nothofagaceae
Genus:
Nothofagus
Species:
N. alessandrii
Binomial name
Nothofagus alessandrii
Espinosa
Synonyms

Fuscospora alessandrii
Pleiosyngyne alessandrii

Description

This is a deciduous tree with a straight, gray trunk that can measure up to 30 metres tall. Its leaves are ovate, ovate-cordate or lanceolate in shape, with conspicuous primary veins and serrated edges. The greenish flowers are unisexual and inconspicuous.

Distribution

The ruil grows between 37 º 05 and 37 º 50 'south latitude, in the provinces of Talca and Cauquenes, in an area of about 100 square kilometres, but in a total area in 1991 totaled over 3.5 km2. According to 1988 studies, the species is scattered in about 185 land-holdings, each of which have one or two hectares and are surrounded by commercial plantations of Pinus radiata (an introduced species), and agricultural croplands and livestock for survival, hindering the expansion of its habitat. The only place where the species is protected by the state is the National Reserve Ruiles created for the express purpose of protecting it.

Hybrids
  • Ruil hybridises with the red beech tree (Nothofagus fusca) from New Zealand to form the hybrid species Nothofagus × eugenananus.[2]

Sources

References
  1. González, M. 1998. Nothofagus alessandrii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 1998. Downloaded on 23 September 2015.
  2. HEENAN, PETER B.; SMISSEN, ROB D. (2013). "Revised circumscription of Nothofagus and recognition of the segregate genera Fuscospora, Lophozonia, and Trisyngyne (Nothofagaceae)". Phytotaxa. 146 (1): 131. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.146.1.1. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
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