Botanical Name: Gomortega keule
Family: Gomortegaceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Laurales
Genus: Gomortega
Species:G. keule
Synonyms: G. nitida; Spanish names keule, Queule, and Hualhual
Common Name:Keule
Habitat: The plant grows only in a very narrow habitat range in coastal central Chile, with an example ecoregion of occurrence being the Chilean matorral.The species is endangered of extinction due to overharvesting, clearing the forests where it is found for agriculture and silviculture.
Gomortega keule produces a yellow edible sweet fruit about 34–45 millimetres (1.3–1.8 in) in diameter, harvested for making a kind of marmalade.
Description:
Keule is an evergreen trees, aromatic, gray bark with shallow longitudinal fissures. The leaves are deciduous, petiolate, simple, entire, obovate to lanceolate, coriaceous. The stems have unilacunar nodes and with two foliar traces. The branches are quadrangular.
The fruit is a uni or trilocular yellow drupe, usually with 1 (-2) seeds, fleshy mesocarp, pleasant, stony endocarp. There are 1-2 seeds per fruit, with abundant, oily endosperm, large embryo, dicotyledonous.
With just about 34-45 millimeters (1.3-1.8 in) in diameter, the Gomortega keule produces a yellow fruit that’s edible also sweet. It is mainly used in making a distinguishing marmalade. Coming to the fruits of Gomortega, they are as large as small hen’s egg. Its yellow color invites one to eat them and is highly lustrous. Even though they are not very succulent, excess eating of the fruit will result in headache. While the nuts and pits of the fruit are hard as a stone, the fruit- pulp is sweet and pleasant. With different appearance of leaves, they are evergreen, simple, aromatic and dark green on the upper side and light beam at the bottom. Having a smooth edge they are oblong elliptical in shape.
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomortega
https://www.fruitsinfo.com/keule-fruit.php
