Fitzroya
| Fitzroya | |
|---|---|
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| Fitzroya cupressoides | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Cupressaceae |
| Genus: | Fitzroya |
| Species: | F. cupressoides |
| Binomial name | |
| Fitzroya cupressoides I.M.Johnst. |
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| Distribution of F. cupressoides in Central Chile (red) | |
Fitzroya is a monotypic genus in the cypress family.
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[edit] Species
The single living species, Fitzroya cupressoides, is a tall, long-lived conifer native to the Andes mountains of southern Chile and Argentina, where it is an important member of the Valdivian temperate rain forests. The scientific name of the genus honours Robert FitzRoy; common names include alerce ("larch", Spanish), lahuán (Spanish, from Mapuche Native American name lawal), and Patagonian Cypress.
[edit] Description
Fitzroya cupressoides is a very large evergreen tree, the largest tree species in South America, normally growing to 40–60 m (131–196 ft; but occasionally more than 70 m in Argentina) tall and up to 5 m in trunk diameter. Much larger specimens existed in the past before the species was heavily logged in the 19th and 20th centuries; Charles Darwin reported finding a specimen 12.6 m (41' 6") in diameter. The leaves are in decussate whorls of three, 3–6 mm long (to 8 mm long on seedlings) and 2 mm broad, marked with two white stomatal lines. The cones are globose, 6–8 mm diameter, opening flat to 12 mm across, with nine scales in three whorls of three. Only the central whorl of scales is fertile, bearing 2-3 seeds on each scale; the lower and upper whorls are small and sterile. The seeds are 2–3 mm long and flat, with a wing along each side. The seeds mature 6–8 months after pollination.
- Largest tree
The largest known living Fitzroya cupressoides is Alerce Milenario in Alerce Costero Natural Monument, Chile. It is more than 60 m tall, with a trunk diameter of 4.26 m.[1] It is possible that larger trees of this species exist.[2]
- 3622 years old
In 1993 a specimen from Chile was found to be 3622 years old, making it the second oldest fully verified (by counting growth rings) age for any living tree species, after the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine.[3]
- Fossils
A team of researchers from the University of Tasmania found fossilized foliage of Fitzroya on the Lea River of northwest Tasmania.[4] The 35 million year-old fossil has been given the species name Fitzroya tasmanensis. The finding demonstrates the ancient floristic affinities between Australasia and southern South America, which botanists identify as the Antarctic flora.
[edit] History
Logging of Fitzroya in colonial Chile began in 1599 and continued until 1976 [5] when it became forbidden by law, although illegal logging still occasionally occurs.
During the colonial era in Chiloé Fitzroya wood was highly valued and roof shingles of Fitzroya were used as currency called "real de alerce".
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Alerce Milenario in Monumento Alerce Costero". Wondermondo. http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/SA/Chile/LosRios/AlerceCostero.htm.
- ^ "The Explorers Club Flag No 24 Alerce Field Study, Chile". Global Exploration & Oceanographic Society. http://www.g-eos.org/2010/03/explorers-club-flag-24-alerce-field.html.
- ^ Lara, A. and R. Villalba. 1993. A 3620-year temperature record from Fitzroya cupressoides tree rings in southern South America. Science 260: 1104-1106.
- ^ Hill, R. S. and Whang, S. S. 1996. A new species of Fitzroya (Cupressaceae) from Oligocene sediments in north-western Tasmania. Australian Systematic Botany 9(6): 867-875.
- ^ Devall, M. S., B. R. Parresol and J. J. Armesto. 1998. Dendroecological analysis of a Fitzroya cupressoides and a Nothofagus nitida stand in the Cordillera Pelada, Chile. Forest Ecology and Management 108:135-145.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fitzroya cupressoides |
[edit] External links
- Fitzroya cupressoides - at the 2011 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Fitzroya cupressoides in Chilebosque (Spanish)
- Fitzroya cupressoides in Encyclopedia of the Chilean Flora (Spanish)
- Gymnosperm Database - Fitzroya cupressoides
