Dasyphyllum diacanthoides. Distinctive common names: Trevo and Tayu is a species of tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 endemic to Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 and Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 in the Asteraceae

Asteraceae

The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

 family. It occurs from Curico

Curicó Province

Curicó Province is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule . Its capital is the city of Curicó. It lies between the provinces of Colchagua and Talca and extends from the Pacific to the Argentine frontier, spanning an area of...

 to Chiloe

Chiloé Province

Chiloé Province is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos . It encompasses all of Chiloé Archipelago with the exception of the Desertores Islands. The province spans a surface area of...

 (35 to 42°S) between 200 and 800 m above sea level. It grows on moist and shaded sites and on arid soils.

Description

It is an evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...

 tree or that measures up to 15 m (50 ft) tall and over 2 m (80 in) in diameter, soft, thin and brown bark, with deep vertical cracks, it is one of the few genera of Asteraceae which are trees. The leaves are alternate, entire edge, elliptical shaped with acute apex

Apex

Apex may refer to:- Biology :* Apex , the tip of the spire of the shell of a gastropod* Apex is the Apical meristem or its remnant on a flower...

 which ends in a micro. The leaves are yellowish green, 2-6 long and 1-2.5 cm wide, glabrous on both surfaces and pubescent on the margins, the petiole

Petiole (botany)

In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...

s are 1-4 mm long.

Provided with two thorns (modified stipule

Stipule

In botany, stipule is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk...

s), deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

 at the base of the leafs, the flowers are clustered in inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

s (terminal Flower heads). The flowers are white and hermaphrodite

Hermaphrodite

In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...

, 5 stamen

Stamen

The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...

s with the anthers attached. The fruit is a cylindrical achene

Achene

An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...

 about 3-3.5 mm long and 1 mm wide, pubescent, reddish pappi 5 mm long.

Trevo worm

The larvae of Chilecomadia moorei feed on this plant. They are highly appreciated by terrarium enthusiasts for their use as live food for reptiles and amphibians.