PlantsMap

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10 plants worth knowing

Chile

Chile is a narrow strip of land more than 4,000 km long, cut off from the rest of the continent by the Andes: in the north lies the Atacama – the driest desert in the world – in the centre the Mediterranean scrub known as matorral, and in the south humid Valdivian forests, fjords and Magellanic forests. Thanks to this isolation almost half of the native plant species are endemic, and central Chile is one of the world’s biodiversity “hotspots”.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Copihue 1

    climber · National flower of Chile (since 1977)

    Copihue

    Lapageria rosea

    Waxy crimson copihue bells hang from climbers in the southern forests – Chile’s national flower and the hero of Mapuche legends.
  2. Monkey puzzle tree 2

    tree · Natural monument of Chile; sacred tree of the Pehuenche people

    Monkey puzzle tree

    Araucaria araucana

    An ancient tree with branches like scaly snakes – sacred to the Pehuenche, the “people of the pehuén”, and a source of their food.
  3. Alerce 3

    tree · Natural monument of Chile

    Alerce

    Fitzroya cupressoides

    One of the longest-lived organisms on Earth – the oldest dated alerce is more than 3,600 years old and grows in the forests of southern Chile.
  4. Chilean wine palm 4

    palm

    Chilean wine palm

    Jubaea chilensis

    The palm with the thickest trunk in the world – it grows wild only in central Chile, and its sap is made into the famous “palm honey”.
  5. Copiapoa cinerea 5

    cactus

    Copiapoa cinerea

    Copiapoa cinerea

    Ash-white cacti that drink fog – in the driest desert on Earth they survive on moisture drifting in from the Pacific.
  6. Grapevine 6

    crop

    Grapevine

    Vitis vinifera

    Chile’s vineyards stretch from the Atacama to Biobío – the country is famous for Carménère, and muscat grapes are distilled into pisco.
  7. Winter’s bark 7

    tree · Sacred tree of the Mapuche people

    Winter’s bark

    Drimys winteri

    The canelo is the sacred tree of the Mapuche – the machi holds its branches during rituals, and its bark saved sailors from scurvy.
  8. Boldo 8

    tree

    Boldo

    Peumus boldus

    Tea made from aromatic boldo leaves is Chile’s home remedy for digestion – the shrub grows only in central Chile.
  9. Coihue 9

    tree

    Coihue

    Nothofagus dombeyi

    The evergreen coihue is the giant of southern Chile’s rainforests, reaching 40–50 m in height.
  10. Maqui 10

    shrub

    Maqui

    Aristotelia chilensis

    The Mapuche have eaten dark purple maqui berries for centuries, and today Chile exports them as a “superfruit” rich in anthocyanins.