Nothofagus macrocarpa

Nothofagus macrocarpa
Nothofagus macrocarpa forest on Cerro El Roble
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Nothofagaceae
Genus:	Nothofagus
Species:	N. macrocarpa
Binomial name
Nothofagus macrocarpa (A.DC.) F.M.Vázquez & R.A.Rodr. (1999) [2]
Synonyms [2]
Fagus obliqua var. macrocarpaA.DC. (1864) Lophozonia macrocarpa(A.DC.) Heenan & Smissen (2013) Nothofagus obliqua var. macrocarpa(A.DC.) Reiche (1897)

Nothofagus macrocarpa, commonly known as roble de Santiago or Santiago's oak, is a deciduous tree in the Nothofagaceae family that is endemic to the mountains of central Chile. ^[1]

Description

Nothofagus macrocarpa is a tree growing 4 to 10 meters tall. It has a stout trunk, either single or with two or three growing from the base. The bark is rough and grayish brown with longitudinal and transverse cracks. It has a leafy and densely-branched crown 3 to 5 meters wide. Leaves are bright green and wavy at the edges, typically oval, and measure 13 to 45 mm long by 7 to 23 mm wide. ^[3]

Range and habitat

Nothofagus macrocarpa grows at higher elevations of the Altos de Cantillana, in Melipilla Province southwest of Santiago, at approximately 2,200 meters elevation. ^[3] It is also found to the east in the Andes foothills of Cachapoal Province from 500 to 2,000 meters elevation. ^[1]

Populations on Cerro El Roble and other nearby mountains once identified as N. macrocarpa were reclassified in 2000 as a distinct species, Nothofagus rutila . ^[3]

Classification

It is sometimes regarded as a subspecies of Nothofagus obliqua . ^[4] In 2013 Heenan and Smissen proposed renaming N. macrocarpa to Lophozonia macrocarpa. ^[5]

References

1. Baldwin, H. (2018). "Nothofagus macrocarpa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018 e.T96478456A96480000. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T96478456A96480000.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. Nothofagus macrocarpa (A.DC.) F.M.Vázquez & R.A.Rodr. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 21 April 2023.
3. Ravenna, Pierfelice (2002). Nothofagus macrocarpa y Nothofagus rutila (Fagaceae), dos especies diferentes. Onira 2002, 7: 57–60.
4. "Nothofagus macrocarpa". Enciclopedia de la Flora Chilena. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
5. HEENAN, PETER B.; SMISSEN, ROB D. (2013). "Revised circumscription of Nothofagus and recognition of the segregate genera Fuscospora, Lophozonia, and Trisyngyne (Nothofagaceae)" . Phytotaxa. 146 (1): 131. Bibcode:2013Phytx.146....1H. doi: 10.11646/phytotaxa.146.1.1 . Retrieved 31 May 2015.