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Plants of Alone · № 26

Patagonia & Nahuel Huapi Plant Field Guide

Plants of the Patagonian / Nahuel Huapi filming environment — Andean-Patagonian trees, edibles, toxics and traditional uses.

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Patagonia & Nahuel Huapi Plant Field Guide cover№ 26
Region
Patagonia / Nahuel Huapi (S3)
Country
Argentina & Chile
Continent
South America
Season
Alone Season 3
File size
926 KB(0.9 MB)
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About this region

Cool temperate Andean climate with strong winds, wet west slope and drier eastern rain-shadow.

The Nahuel Huapi filming region sits on the Andean–Patagonian ecotone: dense southern beech (Nothofagus) forest on the western, wetter slopes and drier steppe just to the east.

The forest is dominated by lenga and ñire, with coihue in wetter draws. Understory shrubs like calafate and chaura produce the region's best-known wild berries, while the drier eastern edges add mate-like herbs and hardy small fruits.

Habitats

  • Nothofagus (southern beech) forest

    Lenga and coihue canopy on cooler, wetter slopes; ñire on colder and higher exposures.

  • Andean shrub-steppe transition

    Calafate, chaura, and coirón grasses on drier, wind-scoured east-side benches.

  • Lake shorelines and wet meadows

    Rushes, sedges, and native small berries fringing glacial lakes.

  • Alpine and post-fire openings

    Colonizer shrubs and cushion plants above and past the tree line.

Notable species

  • LengaNothofagus pumilio

    Primary Patagonian firewood tree.

    Tree

  • ÑireNothofagus antarctica

    Tree

  • CoihueNothofagus dombeyi

    Tree

  • CalafateBerberis microphylla

    Deep purple berries; famous jam and dye source.

    Edible

  • ChauraGaultheria mucronata

    Edible

  • MichayBerberis darwinii

    Edible

  • Cicuta (poison hemlock)Conium maculatum

    Introduced weed in disturbed ground.

    Toxic

Topics

  • patagonia
  • nahuel huapi
  • lenga
  • ñire
  • calafate
  • andean
  • argentina

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