OLIVILLO AEXTOXICON PUNCTATUM

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The olive tree or  “teque”, “tique”, “dead stick”, “aceitunillo” is a diclinodioecious tree, that is, male trees with male flowers due to abortion of the female part and female trees with female flowers due to abortion of the male part. They are long-lived trees (more than 270 years old), with a rounded crown, with ascending branches and dense foliage.

The olivillo is endemic to the temperate and subantarctic forests of Chile and Argentina. In Chile, the species grows along the coast from the province of Limarí (Fray Jorge forest 30º 40' S; 71º 40' W) to Guafo Island, south of Chiloé and in the province of Palena in the sectors of Puerto Ramírez and Puerto Cárdenas where the new southern limit of the species in Chile would be.

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When they grow in the shade and, especially in young plants, the leaves are flat, thin and lanceolate, when they are exposed to sunlight and strong wind they tend to bend or become somewhat revolute, which constitutes a protection adaptation against the intense evapotranspiration and dryness.