Citronella mucronata
Citronella mucronata, the huillipatagua, naranjillo, or Chilean citronella tree, is an evergreen tree in the family Cardiopteridaceae. It is endemic to Chile and grows in the Chilean matorral region of central Chile from 30º to 40° south latitude.
Description
It reaches up to 10 m and 1 m in diameter. The bark is dark gray and rough. The leaves are alternate, leathery, the edge is entire or toothed, ovate or oblong with an acute apex which ends in a mucro. The leaves are about long and wide, with domatia in the axils of the side veins, and the veins are yellow, the leaves are glossy green above, and paler below. Small petioles. The flowers are hermaphrodite and whitish yellow and arranged in terminal panicles long. The calyx is made up by 5 sepals, the corolla has 5 free petals. The fruit is a spherical drupe about in diameter which is purple when mature.Range and habitat
Citronella mucronata is native to the Mediterranean climate Chilean matorral ecoregion, and grows discontinuously from Limari Province to Osorno Province, between elevation. It is common in the Chilean Coastal Range, and less common to the east in the foothills of the Andes.It generally grows in sclerophyllous forest, most frequently in the Roble–Hualo forest type, where it can grow with Nothofagus dombeyi and Nothofagus alpina depending on the latitude. In northern coastal habitats it is often associated with Aextoxicon punctatum, Beilschmiedia miersii, Cryptocarya alba, and Schinus latifolia. In Los Bellotos del Melado National Reserve in the Andes it grows with Beilschmiedia berteroana, Cryptocarya alba, Nothofagus glauca, and Quillaja saponaria.