Laurelia sempervirens

Laurelia sempervirens
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Magnoliids
Order:	Laurales
Family:	Atherospermataceae
Genus:	Laurelia
Species:	L. sempervirens
Binomial name
Laurelia sempervirens (Ruiz & Pav.)Tul.

Laurelia sempervirens, called from mapuche: Tihue, Trihue, also called Chilean Laurel or Chilean Sassafras. It is a species of Evergreen tree in the family Atherospermataceae, formerly Monimiaceae family, in the southern hemisphere genus of plant Laurelia, not closely related to Lauraceae despite the similarity. It is endemic to Chile. It occurs 34-41º South Latitude. They require a warm subtropical to tropical climate that is cool but also frost-free or with only very slight winter frosts not below -4°C, and with high summer heat, rainfall, and humidity. This is, the laurel forest habitat. The Tihue Growth best on well-drained, slightly acidic soils rich in organic matter.

Description

The Tihue is a large, ( up 30 m. tall to 2 m. diameter) evergreen laurifolia tree with smooth, yellow pale bark. The bark cracks when aging coming off in roughly circular plates. The wood and the leaves are strongly aromatic. The bright green leaves of the Chilean laurel are arranged in opposite pairs, and are oblong in shape, narrowed at the base. The leaves are leathery, shiny, and around 5 to 10 centimetres long and 2.5 to 5 centimetres wide. The serrated edges of the leaves help to distinguish this tree from the closely related Laureliopsis philippiana, which has more deeply toothed leaf margins. The Tihue bears bundels of small yellow flowers this flowers are unisexuals or hermaphrodites. The fruit is a greenish achene with seeds bearing feathery anemophilous filaments. The seed is dispersed by the wind (anemochory).

Cultivation and uses

Its wood is pale-yellowish, with growth rings little notorious and homogeneous and fine texture. It is threatened by habitat loss. It has been introduced into Spain^[1] and into Cornwall^[2] and planted in Sussex^[3] in the UK.

References

1. ^ "Chilean plants cultivated in Spain". José Manuel Sánchez de Lorenzo-Cáceres. http://www.arrakis.es/~jmanuel/Plantaschilenas.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
2. ^ Trebah plant and tree inventory 2007, ISBN 0-9521952-1-6: The Trebah specimens of L. Sempervirens are catalogued as TB141 and TB198. The latter had a girth of 1.63 metres and a height of 19.05 metres in 2007. There is also a mature specimen at Enys garden, labelled as a "Peruvian laurel". There are probably several other mature specimens in gardens in Cornwall.
3. ^ "Half-hardy trees in Britain and Ireland - part two". Royal Horticultural Society. http://www.rhs.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/831C8FEF-445C-4FA3-8951-AA257A07F238/0/halfhardytrees.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-27. ^{[dead link]}

• González, M. 1998. Laurelia sempervirens. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 22 August 2007.
• Laurelia sempervirens in Encyclopedia of Chilean Flora
• Images of Laurelia sempervirens from 'Chilebosque Web site
• Plants for a future database: Laurelia sempervirens. - British commentary on this tree.

External links

Media related to Laurelia sempervirens at Wikimedia Commons