(Nothofagus pumilio)

Great bearing tree that reaches almost 30 mts tall; its trunk, with conical cylinder, with favorable environmental conditions arrives at diameters from up to 1.5 mts, like in Tierra del Fuego. At the top of the mountain to smaller latitudes, like in Neuquén or Chubut, the lenga is developed like a meter height bush, very dense and impenetrable shrubs.
Native species of the typical subantarctic forests in Argentina and Chile, extends by first of the countries mentioned by a thin strip of not but 50 km wide from north of Neuquén to the Beagle channel and the States island. It occupies the high levels of the vegetation of the Andean bulk, constituting almost pure associations until the 1800 mts over sea level in Neuquén, where in the magallanical sector hardly surpasses the 500 mts height.

Within the forest it presents a thin glass. The pure lengal has a clean underbrush, easy to work and operate. However, when lenga is associate to another species, like coihue in Chubut, or pehuén in Neuquén, the underbrush is an impenetrable cane plantation of coihue.

Their wood, of target-pink height and yellow-pink duramen, presents a smooth brightness in the longitudinal sections, with light grained, grain straight, of fine and homogenous texture. These qualities contribute to describe it a easily workable wood, of good quality, compacts and elastic. It requires a slow drying and needs the application of treatments of reacondicionado.

Specific weight: is a moderately heavy wood (: 0,570 kg/dm), hard, soft to semihard, good for uncoiled processes of and steam curved, being used in the construction of structures, cooperage, the naval industry, general carpentry, parquets, furniture, carved pieces and winch process. It presents durability exposed to the humidity, using it to it for such reason for the preparation of posts and fencing rods of , floors, etc.
It´s one of the Argentine forest species that offer greater volumes of usable existence within the natural forests, without ordering and with deficient sanitary state, but with possibilities of making a rational extraction, using his wood in integral form to make agglomerate and cellulose pastes.
Given its importance within the native ecosystems, any project for the operation of this species must carefully be analyzed.

As well, lenga acquires a particular importance within the typical landscapes of the Andean-patagonic forests, which have reached world-wide fame thanks to the tourist development within the national parks of the zone. Its presence becomes remarkable when the autumn arrives and the lenga foliage became of a dark green color to successive tonalities that goes red to the orange and to the yellow.

Leaves: simple, alternating, of elliptical form, with obtuse base and crenado edge, of about 4 cm in length by 2 of wide; with prominent central ribbing at the back, that continues in short pecíolo; parallel or subparallel secondary ribbings, between which are two lobes, characteristic of the lenga leaves.

Flowers: small, of separated sex in the same tree, tapeworms, in the armpits of the leaves; the female flower has ínfero ovary to trilocular, with two ova by locus; the masculine one, of other color, has of 15 to 20 estambres with lengths and thin filaments that facilitate the anemophilous polinización.

Fruits: triwinged aquenios of 8mm of length, covered by a coriácea cupola.

Crust: grayish of 1 cm of thickness, cracked longitudinally after happening through its youthful state.