Nothofagus alessandri
Encyclopedia
Nothofagus alessandri (Ruil) is a species of plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

 in the Fagaceae
Fagaceae
The family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, which are characterized by alternate simple leaves with pinnate venation, unisexual flowers in the form of catkins, and fruit in the form of cup-like nuts. Fagaceous leaves are often...

 family. It is endemic to Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

. It is threatened by habitat loss. The species is protected within Los Ruiles National Reserve.

Description

It is a straight tree trunk and gray that can measure up to 30 m tall. Its leaves are of an ovate, ovate-cordate or lanceolate, with primary veins conspicuous and serrated edge. The flowers are unisexual and inconspicuous, greenish.

Distribution

The ruil grows between 37 º 05 and 37 º 50 'south latitude, in the provinces of Talca
Talca Province
Talca Province is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule . Its capital is the city of Talca.-Administration:As a province, Talca is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.-Communes:The province...

 and Cauquenes
Cauquenes Province
Cauquenes Province is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule . The provincial capital is the city of Cauquenes.-Geography and demography:The provincial capital, Cauquenes, lies approximately southwest of Santiago...

, in an area of about 100 km, but in a total area in 1991 totaled over 3.5 km2 and According to studies, 1998, the species is scattered in 185 people who mostly have 1 or 2 ha and are surrounded by commercial plantations of Pinus radiata (an introduced species), and agricultural croplands and livestock for survival, hindering the expansion of its habitat. The only place where the species is protected by the state is the National Reserve Ruiles created for the express purpose of protecting it.

Source

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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