The native forests of Southern Argentina are part of a larger sub-Antactic forest extending through Argentina's Patagonia region on the east side of the Andes Mountains, and into south-central Chile on the west side of the Andes. The forests are called "Gondwannic" because they evolved together between 500 and 140 million years ago when South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica were part of a single supercontinent called Gondwana. Plate tectonics caused Gondwana to begin splitting apart 140 million years ago, spreading a southern beech (nothofagus) forest ecosystem to regions of southern Chile and Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and southern Africa.
|
A rare grove of arrayán trees (luma apiculata, above and right) flourishes on Kruger Lake in Los Alerces ("The Larches") National Park, in northern Patagonia, some 450 miles south of Neuquén. Arrayán trees are a strikingly beautiful variety of myrtle with twisted, cinnamon-colored trunks that are very smooth and cold to the touch. The trunk peels, revealing shades from reddish-brown to white. When the sun's rays filter through the branchs, the effect is magical. Arrayán trees grow very slowly, reaching heights up to 55 feet, and can be up to 300 years old.
Arrayán trees bloom (right) in mid- to late-summer with intricate white flowers, followed by edible purplish-black berries. They are holy trees to the Araucanian Indians, who make candies and a fermented drink (chicha) from the fruits. The leaves have a fragrant lemon scent when crushed, and can be used to make tea.
|
These ancient forests are on the verge of extinction due to a lack of awareness of the critical role they play in a fragile ecosystem. In Argentina, they cover only 2 percent of the country along a narrow strip that measures 40 miles across at its widest and extends 1,360 miles, from Neuquén Province in the north to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of the South American continent (see map above).
|
|
|
