| A handsome shrubby tree from Chile that I am fond of is very rare in Seattle. This article shares the little I know about it. |
| Red Lantern-tree is an evergreen straggly shrub or slender tree recorded up to 47.5 feet tall, native in Chilean rainforests. It can handle light freezing, but to thrive requires more or less shade, and consistently moist soil. It'd be good planted on the north side of a building. |
| The leaves are very dark green, slender and shiny, at most 5 inches long. Old leaves turn yellow and drop a few at a time during the growing season. For foliage alone the plant is not worth cultivating. Its flowers, however, are choice. They dangle like red one-inch lanterns from mid-May into early August. Most are in June to early July. They are a rich coral-red, resemble little tulips, and their soft texture contrasts pleasingly with the glossy foliage. After the flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds, plump seedpods form. |
| In Chile, a name of the tree is Polizonte. It has been used in herbal medicine there. It was introduced to Northern Hemisphere cultivation in England in 1848 by William Lobb; it was in California by 1923. In Seattle, I recall seeing it in five locations. I measured one 23 feet high at Heronswood Nursery in 2007; it was about 12 years old then. Since it was being sold by Heronswood from 1991 to 2005, surely other specimens are in Seattle gardens unbeknownst to me. |
| Genus Crinodendron has 5 species, not well studied, of Bolivia, N Argentina, Brazil and C Chile. |
Since Red Lantern-tree is not much visually from a distance, or as a tall shrub/tree, and since it handles pruning well, I advise growing it as a shrub, keeping it low, so you can enjoy the flowers right in your face. It is not fragrant, not reported edible or toxic. I should taste it.
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Crinodendron shrub ; photo by ALJ
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Crinodendron in bloom ; photo by ALJ
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Crinodendron trunks and suckers ; photo by ALJ
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Crinodendron seedpod ; photo by ALJ
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