Azara Ruiz & Pav.

Formerly included in the Flacourtiaceae, molecular evidence has now placed Azara in the Salicaceae (Chase et al. 2002; Stevens 2001–2008). Circumscription of the Flacourtiaceae has been amongst the most controversial of any family of flowering plants, into which genera of uncertain affinity such as Azara were once simply dumped. This gave the family a reputation of being known as a ‘dustbin family’ or, to put it another way, when in doubt put it in Flacourtiaceae (Chase et al. 2002). Following this reclassification, the Salicaceae, which traditionally included willows, poplars, aspens, and cottonwoods (Salix and Populus), now comprises 56 genera in nine Tribes. Other horticultural genera formerly placed in Flacourtiaceae, now in Salicaceae, include Carrierea, Idesia, Poliothyrsis and Xylosma (Chase et al. 2002).

Azara honours the Spanish diplomat José Nicholás de Azara (1730–1804) and was named by Spanish botanists Hipólito Ruiz López (1754–1816) and José Antonio Pavón (1754–1840) who, alongside French botanist Joseph Dombey (1742–1794) conducted fieldwork mainly in Chile and Peru between 1779 and 1788. The spoils from this very rewarding period of plant collecting were published in their celebrated 10 volume work, Flora Peruviana et Chilensis prodromus (Ruiz & Pavón 1798–1802). In their subsequent work Systema vegetabilium florae peruvianae et chilensis (Ruiz & Pavón 1798) they published three Chilean Azara species – A. dentata, A. integrifolia and A. serrata. Over the next 50 years most of the remaining species were published, including A. lanceolata and A. microphylla by Joseph Dalton Hooker in his seminal work Flora Antarctica (Hooker 1845). In our account of Azara we include all accepted species save for A. salicifolia (native to Argentina and Bolivia) which is considered too winter tender for temperate climates.

Currently there are two Plant Heritage National Plant Collections for the genus in the UK. One is held by the University of Exeter in Devon and the other by Mark Pavior in Herefordshire and between them they grow eight of the ten species (the elusive two being A. celastrina and A. salicifolia). The cultivation of Azara is not that straightforward due to many species not being hardy in some garden situations. The hardiest species is undoubtedly A. microphylla followed by A. alpina, A. petiolaris, A. serrata and A. lanceolata. All species thrive in neutral to acid soils and are often cultivated against a south-facing wall. However, cultivation in woodland conditions with light shade is also recommended. For most species avoidance of exposed sites with cold winds is advisable.

Even though most species of Azara are relatively straightforward to identify, some names are very confused in gardens and the nursery trade. For example, ever since its introduction to cultivation in 1830, A. dentata has been confused with A. serrata. During research for this account we have made a concerted effort to correct many hundreds of misidentifications in gardens, however there is still much to do, especially with correcting wrongly named plants in the nursery trade. The invalid name A. paraguayensis (now usually referred to as A. serrata ‘Maurice Mason’) is still being used and A. petiolaris is still sometimes confused with A. serrata.

The local Chilean name of corcolén is used for many Azara species. The origin of the name comes from the Mapuche language (Mapundungún), meaning juice or broth, similar to Culén (Otholobium glandulosum), since some of the fruits of Azara can be used for preparing infusions or teas.

Propagation is straightforward. The cleaned seed should be sown immediately in a well-drained compost after which germination will start to occur after 30 days. Vegetative propagation can give fairly good results and this method has been used recently to repropagate the Azara collection at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, which includes a range of verified, wild-collected material. This important work, led by the horticulturist Graeme MacDonald, involved taking cuttings from A. alpina, A. celastrina, A. dentata and A. lanceolata. Using 10–15 cm long cuttings from the current years’ growth, the rooting hormone Clonex was applied and the cuttings were inserted into a medium comprising 50:50 perlite/coarse bark (number 2 grade), with a bottom heat of 20°C. All except A. alpina took between 4–6 weeks to root, with a success rate of about 50%, the former took 5 months to root and with a very low number rooting (G. MacDonald pers. comm. 2025).