Crinodendron hookerianum known as Chilean Lantern Tree is an evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...

 tree 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...

 in the Elaeocarpaceae

Elaeocarpaceae

Elaeaocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family approximately contains 605 species of trees and shrubs in 12 genera. The largest genera are Elaeocarpus, with about 350 species, and Sloanea, with about 150....

 family, it grows from Cautin

Cautín Province

Cautín Province is one of two provinces in the southern Chilean region of Araucanía , bounded on the north by Arauco and Malleco provinces, on the east by Argentina, on the south by Valdivia Province, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Its population at the 2002 census was of 667,920. The most...

 to Palena

Palena Province

Palena Province is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos . Due to the eruption of Chaitén Volcano and the subsequent destruction of Chaitén, Futaleufú is since March 2009 the new capital of Palena Province. The private Pumalín Park is located in the province as is...

 (38 to 43°S). It occurs near stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

s or very humid sites or highly shady places.

Description

It is a shrub or small tree that measures up to 8 metres (26.2 ft) tall and 30 centimetres (11.8 in) in diameter, ash color. The leaves are alternate, with toothed edge and lanceolate shaped with acute apex

Apex

Apex may refer to:- Biology :* Apex , the tip of the spire of the shell of a gastropod* Apex is the Apical meristem or its remnant on a flower...

, petiolate, 4-7 cm long and 0.7-1.8 wide, dark green above and hairy whitish green below. The flowers are hermaphrodite

Hermaphrodite

In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...

, solitary and axillary, pinkish to red. Pedicel

Pedicel (botany)

A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....

s about 3-6 cm long, the calyx is formed by 5 fused sepal

Sepal

A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...

s green colored, the bell-shaped Corolla made up by 5 free petal

Petal

Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...

s which end in 3 teeth, 15-18 stamen

Stamen

The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...

, with the style longer than the stamen. The fruit is a capsule with 3 to 5 valves. The seeds are roundish.

Uses

Its beautiful flowers make it a highly valued ornamental tree. It has been planted as far north as Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.

Etymology

Crinodendron (Greek: beautiful flowers’ tree) and hookerianum in honor of William Jackson Hooker

William Jackson Hooker

Sir William Jackson Hooker, FRS was an English systematic botanist and organiser. He held the post of Regius Professor of Botany at Glasgow University, and was the first Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He enjoyed the friendship and support of Sir Joseph Banks for his exploring,...

, English botanist who studied many Chilean plants