#chilean trees

[gardenwerks]

Wow...so hard to post photos you found on the web!!! This photo of an entire Arrayan tree is by MarcelaPazF taken in 2016 in Parque Nacional Chiloé. Posted on Wikimedia Commons.

[gardenwerks]

This is a young Luma apiculata from Chile, a common evergreen small tree in the myrtle family. Notice how much the white flowers look like the common shrubby myrtle from the Mediterranean. The foliage is small pointed ellipses that are fairly firm. As the tree grows from a seedling it will develop orange peeling bark much like our Western native madrone trees. On young stems the bark is often light colored outside, and orange revealed within. However I've seen photos of woodland groves in Chile with multiple trunks of burnt orange bark

This little plant from Deserts Northwest in nearby Sequim, WA, has been growing for 3 seasons and has bulked up beautifully but not grown much taller. This is the first year it has flowered.

This luma is native to southern Chile which has a climate similar to the PNW, so I hope it grows to tree size. The similar-looking shrub behind it is a different Myrtle family member also from Chile. I will do a write up on it.