February Plant Profile: Chilean Plum Yew

Each month the UW Botanic Gardens' Newsletter, E-Flora, posts in detail about a specific plant, among many other interesting posts about events and general information.

This month's feature is about the Chilean plum yew, which is rarely grown..

February Plant Profile:  Prumnopitys andina

Prumnopitys andina superficially resembles a yew, which is part of the reason for its English common name, Chilean plum yew. The other part is from its female cone resembling a small plum. In North America, Chilean plum yew is very rarely grown. We have eight plants in our collections, all located at the Washington Park Arboretum, from the Pacific Connections Garden southward. There are also some trees being grown in botanic gardens in the coastal San Francisco bay area of California and in the southwest corner of British Columbia. Our two largest trees are now much more visible than they used to be.  They are both in prominent locations at either end of the new bridge for the Arboretum Loop Trail west of the Stone Cottage. They are planted within the historic rockery that lines both sides of the seasonal stream that runs from the Broadmoor golf course southward along the east side of Arboretum Drive E. They now receive more light and should continue to be attractive sentinels flanking the bridge for many decades to come. Common name:  Chilean plum yew, Lleuque (in Chile) Family:  Podocarpaceae Location:  Washington Park Arboretum: 2 in the Chilean Entry Garden (grids 4-3E and 3-3E), 4 in the Gateway to Chile (1S-3E and 1S-4E).  At the east side of Arboretum Drive E where the Arboretum Loop Trail meets the drive, there is one tree adjacent to the Drive near the northwest corner of the bridge and one at the southeast corner of the bridge. Origin:   Endemic to south-central Chile. Range is from 1,600 to 4,300 feet in elevation. Height and spread:  In the wild, can reach 100' high, but more often is 45-60' tall.  In cultivation the trees are moderate growing and more typically 30-40 feet high.  Hardiness:  Cold hardy to USDA Zone 8