Download Tree of the Month, March 2013: Coigüe or Dombey`s southern beech

TreeoftheMonth,March2013:
CoigüeorDombey’ssouthernbeech(Nothofagusdombeyi)
WehaveabeautifulNothofagusdombeyiintheSouthernHemisphereGardenhereat
VanDusen.Thetreehasawide,spreadingcrownofelegantbranchescoveredintiny,glossy
evergreenleaves.Thesecrettoitsvigourliesinitslocation;itwasplantedonastreambank,
exactlythekindofsettingwherethehealthiestCoigüe,awater-hungryspecies,arefoundin
ChileandArgentina.CoigüeisthecommonnameforNothofagusdombeyiinthelanguageof
theMapuche,theindigenousinhabitantsofthatpartofSouthAmerica.Coigüeisanimportant
treeinitsnativerange,formingdenseforests,occasionallymixedwithmonkeypuzzletrees
(Araucariaaraucana),knownlocallyaspehuén.
NothofagusdombeyiwasnamedforFrenchbotanistJosephDombey,whowassenttoSouth
Americainthe1770stostudythelocalfloraandfindplantsthatcouldbegrowninFrance.
Althoughhesufferedmanydifficulties,includinghavinghiscollectionsseizedbyboththeBritish
andSpanish,hedidsomeimportantworkonthecinchonatree,whichisanimportantsourceofquinine,
atreatmentformalaria.HewaseventuallycapturedbyprivateersandimprisonedinMontserrat,where
hediedin1794.MuchofhisworkwaspublishedbyhisfellowbotanistsJoséPavonandHipólitoRuizin
theirFloraPeruviana,etChilensis.HisplantcollectionsarecurrentlyheldattheBritishMuseum,the
RealJardínBotánicodeMadrid,andtheMuséumNationald’HistoireNaturelleinParis.
WiththenotableexceptionofAfrica,thegenusNothofagusis,orwas,foundonallcontinentsinthe
SouthernHemisphere.FossilsofNothofagusdatingbacktotheCretaceousperiodhavebeenfoundin
Antarctica,suggestingthatthecurrentdistributionofthisgenusdatesbackover200millionyearstothe
timewhenSouthAmerica,Australia,NewZealandandAntarcticaweremergedintoasupercontinent
knownasGondwana.TheAntarcticbeech,Nothofagusantarctica,isfoundasfarsouthasIslaHostein
TierradelFuego,closertothesouthpolethananyothertreeknowntoscience.WehaveseveralN.
antarcticagrowinginourSouthernHemisphereGarden,buttheytendtoformweakrootsystemsinour
clay-richsoilandoftenblowoverinwindstorms.