Azara uruguayensis
Sponsor
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Jane Furse
Credits
Martin F. Gardner & Sabina G. Knees (2025)
Recommended citation
Gardner, M.F. & Knees, S.G. (2025), 'Azara uruguayensis' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Common Names
- Palo vainilla
Synonyms
- Arechavaletaia uruguayensis Speg.
- Azara brasiliensis Lign. & Bey
- Azara emiliae Harms
A densely leafy shrub 2–4 m tall, or a small tree to 6 m tall, branching from the base; bark brownish grey, branchlets glabrous. Leaves 4–8.5 × 2–4.5 cm, narrowly to broadly oblong or elliptic, apex gradually narrowing, tip mucronulate-subacute or obtuse, base narrowly to broadly wedge-shaped, subcoriaceous, margins entire (especially in old trees) or with a few teeth, dark green above, paler beneath, glabrous or pubescent, rarely tomentose beneath, lateral nerves in 6–8 pairs; petiole 3–5 mm long and often tinged red. Stipules 0.5–2 × 0.7–2 cm. broadly ovate to almost rounded, base truncate or somewhat auriculate, entire or with a few teeth, sessile or shortly stalked. Flowers yellowish-green, fragrant, 6–10, borne in axillary spikes; pedicels 1–2 cm. Sepals 4, ovate, subacute, fleshy, glabrous outside, densely grey-pubescent inside. Stamens 16–20. Nectaries solitary. Flowering April–May. Fruits 5–7 mm, globose, pinkish-blue, pruinose. (Sleumer 1980).
Distribution Brazil Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo Uruguay Cerro Largo, Durazno, Florida, Lavalleja, Maldonado, Rivera, Tacuarembó, Treinta y Tres
Habitat Azara uruguayensis is widely distributed in the eastern part of Uruguay and SE Brazil. It is sometimes erroneously listed as being native to Argentina, where it is sometimes cultivated. It has an altitudinal range of between sea level to 2500 m in the altiplano and therefore occurs in a wide range of habitats. It is frequently seen in evergreen woodlands especially forming part of the undergrowth in Araucaria angustifolia forest.
USDA Hardiness Zone 9b-10a
RHS Hardiness Rating H3
Conservation status Not evaluated (NE)
Azara uruguayensis is often confused with other Azara species, especially A. serrata and the unpublished name A. paraguayensis, which has been wrongly applied to A. serrata ‘Maurice Mason’. In 1987, The Plant Finder (Philip 1987) listed two nurseries selling A. uruguayensis, and in 1992 it was included in The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening (Huxley, Griffiths & Levy 1992), but there is no certainty that the use of this name corresponded to genuine A. uruguayensis. For this reason, it is somewhat difficult to ascertain exactly when true A. uruguayensis was first introduced into cultivation. However, there are a handful of plants being cultivated in the UK for which we have managed to confirm their identity. A plant growing at Tregrehan, Cornwall (planted in 2001) was purchased from a local nursery and attained a height of about 4.5 m before it blew over in a gale during the winter of 2023. This is thought to be due to the ground becoming too wet, but after being pruned back to 2 m, the tree has responded well and is looking very healthy (T. Hudson, pers. comm. 2025). Greenway Gardens in Devon has a much smaller plant, only 1 m tall (A. Brent, pers. comm. 2025). Finally, the National Azara Collection at Exeter University has successfully cultivated a plant that is about 4 m tall (J. Evans, pers. comm. 2025).
Azara uruguayensis is a very handsome shrub that is worthy of wider cultivation, but clearly as a native of the subtropical climates of Uruguay and Brazil, it is only going to be reliably hardy in the most protected temperate climates. However, it is worth noting that the Tregrehan specimen has come through winters unscathed when temperatures dropped as low as –5°C (T. Hudson, pers. comm.). Considering its wide altitude range (sea level to 2600 m), material selected from high altitude provenances may prove to be more winter hardy.
