Chilean Firebush

Did you know

• When in full bloom, the Chilean firebush is one of the most spectacular flowering trees in the temperate world — every branch is smothered in clusters of tubular scarlet flowers, creating the appearance of living flames.
• In its native Chile, the species is pollinated by hummingbirds; in Britain and Ireland where it is widely grown, tits and other small birds have learned to pierce the long tubular flowers for nectar.
• Embothrium coccineum belongs to Proteaceae, placing it in the same family as the South African protea and Australian banksia — a family that originated when all southern continents were joined as Gondwana.
• The Chilean Mapuche people call the tree 'notro' and used the bark to treat mouth infections and as an astringent; the vivid orange-red dye from its flowers was also used in textile dyeing.
• The most cold-hardy form grows in Patagonia at the southern extreme of the species range — this provenance is widely grown in British gardens and can survive mild frosts that would kill Chilean lowland plants.

Color meanings

Uses

• ornamental
• wildlife habitat
• traditional medicine