- Luma chequen
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Luma chequen Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Rosids Order: Myrtales Family: Myrtaceae Genus: Luma Species: L. chequen Binomial name Luma chequen
(Molina) A.GrayLuma chequen (White Chilean Myrtle) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Luma in the family Myrtaceae, native to the central Andes mountains between Chile and Argentina, at latitudes located 30 to 41º South. Synonyms include Eugenia chequen Molina, Myrtus chequen (Molina) Spreng., and Luma gayana (Barn.) Burret. Common names in Spanish include Chequén, Huillipeta, and Arrayán Blanco (White Myrtle).
It is a shrub (rarely a small tree) growing to 9 m tall, with dull grey-brown bark (unlike the smooth red bark of the related Luma apiculata). It is evergreen, with small fragrant oval leaves 0.5-2.5 cm long and 0.3-1.5 cm broad, and white flowers in early to mid summer. Its fruit is an edible dark purple berry 1 cm in diameter, ripe in early autumn.
It has been introduced as ornamental in the North Pacific Coast of the United States[1].
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