Lomatia ferruginea known as Fuinque is a small evergreen tree native to Chile in the Proteaceae family, it grows from Curicó Province to Magallanes (35 to 49°). It is found mostly in deep and moist soils.

Description

It measures up to 6 m tall, evergreen, with few branches, newly shoots are covered in reddish-brown hairs, Composite, bipinnate, fern-like opposite and peciolate leaves, 13-14 long and 8-10 wide, green above and reddish-brown below. The flowers are hermaphrodite and pedicelate, 2 cm long, in racemes shorter than the leaves, made up by 14-16 opposite flowers, grayish-yellow in bud, every flower is formed by 4 tepals which are oval lanceolate bicolor, reddish brown with green apex, then thinned and again wide at the concave apex of 1.5 cm long, with sessile anthers at the concave apex of the petals, long style, red bulky and oblique stigma, the fruit is a woody dark brown follicle, 3.5-4.0 wide and 1 cm long, made up by two valves, thin pedicelate, like a peduncle downwards, upwards prolonged at the style, it has many imbricate seeds, winged and truncated at the tip, 1.5 cm wide and 0.5 mm.

Cultivation and uses

The wood has beautiful marks and is much used in carpentry. It is highly valued as an ornamental tree in Chile. It has been planted in Scotland.^[1]

Etimology

Lomatia; from the Greek lomas, because of the seeds edge, ferruginea from Latin meaning ferrous or rusty referring to the reddish-brown color in newly buds.