Patagonian cypress
fitzroya cupressoides latin

Fitzroya cupressoides and tepú (Tepualia stipularis) grow in the poorly drained soils of the Piuchén and Pirulil ranges.

His researches on this trip showed that the tree that produced Alerce timber was the Patagonian Cypress, Fitzroya cupressoides and not Libocedrus tetragona as had been previously thought.

The centerpiece of this lush and mountainous protected area are the Fitzroya cupressoides (locally known as Alerce) forests, which consist of pure and mixed stands comprising a total surface of about 200 km2.

'Fitzroya' is a monotypic genus in the cypress family Cupressaceae with a single species, 'Fitzroya cupressoides' native to the Andes mountains of southern Chile and Argentina, where it is an important member of the Valdivian temperate rain forests.