Gomortega


Gomortega keule is a species of tree endemic to Chile. It is the sole species of the genus Gomortega and, according to the APG IV system of 2016, of the monotypic family Gomortegaceae, assigned to the order Laurales in the clade magnoliids.

Description

Evergreen trees, aromatic, gray bark with shallow longitudinal fissures. The leaves are petiolate, simple, entire, obovate to lanceolate, coriaceous. The stems have unilacunar nodes and with two foliar traces. The branches are quadrangular.
The edible fruit is a uni- or tri-locular yellow drupe, usually with 1 seeds, fleshy mesocarp, pleasant, stony endocarp. There are 1-2 seeds per fruit, with abundant, oily endosperm, large embryo, dicotyledonous. The fruit is about in diameter and edible and sweet, and harvested for making a kind of marmalade.
The chromosome number is n = 21, 2n = 42.

Distribution

Gomortega keule grows only in a very narrow habitat range in coastal Central Chile, including the Maulino forest and parts of the Chilean matorral. It is a characteristic tree species of the Maulino forest alongside Nothofagus glauca, Nothofagus × leoni, and Nothofagus alessandrii.
The species is threatened by habitat loss. The Maulino forest has mostly been cleared for agriculture and tree plantations of Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus globulus. The species' remaining habitat is fragmented, and its populations isolated. It has been affected by fires, including the 2017 Chile wildfires. Populations are protected at Los Queules National Reserve and Los Ruiles National Reserve.

The species

  • Gomortega keule in Encyclopedia of the Chilean Flora

  • The family

  • in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz. : descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 27 April 2006. http://delta-intkey.com.
Category:Monotypic Laurales genera
Category:Flora of the Chilean Matorral
Category:Trees of Chile
Category:Endangered plants
Category:Taxa named by Henri Ernest Baillon
Category:Taxa named by Juan Ignacio Molina
Category:Flora of the Valdivian temperate forests
Category:Fruits originating in South America
Category:Taxa named by José Antonio Pavón Jiménez
Category:Taxa named by Hipólito Ruiz López