The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Crinodendron patagua
Also called Lily Of The Valley Tree
Patagua is an evergreen tree from central Chile, grown for its white bell-shaped flowers and used in parts of Britain, Ireland and California as an ornamental. It is fast-growing, frost-tolerant and easily raised from seed.
Crinodendron patagua, the patagua or lily of the valley tree (also a name for Clethra arborea), is a species of evergreen tree. It is endemic to Chile, where it grows from 33° to 36° South latitude, up to 1200 m (4000 ft) above sea level in elevation. It is found in wet habitats and prefers ravines.
It is used for honey production. The tannin contained in bark is used for tanning leather. The wood is used in furniture. It is easy to cultivate and therefore it is used for reforestation as it can be planted by seeds, is very fast-growing, and tolerates frosts. It has been introduced successfully as ornamental in New Zealand, California, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and some parts of England, although it does not flower as freely in the United Kingdom as the equally ornamental and more widely cultivated Crinodendron hookerianum, which is red or pink-flowered.
Etymology: Crinodendron (Greek: "lily tree") and patagua (mapuche name of the tree). Formerly named Tricuspidaria dependens Ruiz et Pav.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Crinodendron patagua by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
