Fitzroya cupressoides

Alerce. Photo by andrea ugarte, Flickr Creative Commons

Redwood Relatives South of the Equator

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The beautiful Alerce trees, Fitzroya cupressoides, grow in the cool rainforests of Chile, just to the west of the Andes. The Alerce are members of the same conifer family as the redwoods (the Cupressaceae) and the two species share many striking similarities.