Alerce Costero National Monument - 12th March

After a short drive from Valdivia along more seemingly endless dusty gravel roads through pine, Eucalyptus and occasional Sweet Chestnut plantations, we entered the park (via a few fords). This was to be our first opportunity to see the Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides) - one of the oldest and largest conifers in the world and one of the most exploited trees in Chile. Because of its size and the fact that its timber is very durable and easily split, most of the trees have been logged out over the last century.


The timber was frequently used as roofing shingles and one of the first sights that greeted us was an old farm building with Alerce shingles. The drive through the park was fantastic, with lots of great plants. But the highlight had to be seeing Fuchsia magellanica with its beautiful flowers and the hummingbirds flitting from flower to flower. We were promised the chance to see an old Alerce during our visit, but nothing really prepared us for the tree we went to see. Standing 30m tall with a diameter of 4.6m and a circumference of 11.40m, it is estimated to be 3600 years old - making it the second oldest species in the world (after the Bristle Cone Pine from the USA).

Naturally thinking it would be great to grow seed from this individual, we got the throw line up in the tree - only to find it was male! Amongst stunning scenery the team made a really good seed bank collection of Alerce, utilising Ben's skills with the throw line and then shaking the branches onto a tarpaulin. We also collected the tiny insectivorous Sundew (Drosera uniflora) and the coniferous Podocarpus nubigenus. A truly great day!