Kageneckia oblonga is a species of plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

 in the Rosaceae

Rosaceae

Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...

 family. It is 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...

. K. oblonga is an evergreen tree. It grows from Coquimbo

Coquimbo

Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo lies in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than 400,000 inhabitants. The commune spans an area around the...

 to Malleco (29 to 38°S). Example occurrences are found specifically found in central 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...

 within the La Campana National Park

La Campana National Park

La Campana National Park is located in the Cordillera de la Costa, Quillota Province, in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. La Campana National Park and the Vizcachas Mountains lie northwest of Santiago...

 and Cerro La Campana

Cerro La Campana

Cerro la Campana, the Bell mountain, is a mountain in La Campana National Park in central Chile.The Pacific and the mountain Aconcagua are visible from the summit on clear days....

 forest areas. In these areas the endangered Chilean Wine Palm, Jubaea chilensis is an associated tree species.

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...

 small tree or shrub that measures up to 5 m (16 ft) tall, the leaves are alternate, very leathery, with toothed edge and oblong shaped, the leaves are petiolate

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...

, yellowish-green, about 3-6 cm long. The flowers are unisexual star-shaped and white, solitary or clustered in axillary 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. The calyx is formed by 5 sepal

Sepal

A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...

s, the corolla is made up by 5 petals. The male ones have 15-20 stamen

Stamen

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

s. The fruit is a pentameous star-shaped capsule

Capsule (fruit)

In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...

, about 2-3 cm in diameter. The seeds are winged.

Uses

The wood is very hard and it is used for elaborating tools, in traditional medicine it is used as emetic and laxative.

Etymology

Kageneckia in honour of Frederick von Kageneck, Austrian ambassador to Madrid. Oblonga refers to the shape of the leaves.