**2. Chile's unique geographical features and its endemic flora**

The continental Chilean territory has an area close to 75 million hectares and is situated on the southwest border of South America. It has a length of approximately 4300 km from north to south and the average width is 180 km. Pits, terraces, mountainous regions, and valleys form Chile's diverse geomorphology, which together with the biogeographical isolation of a territory limited by geographical and climatic barriers, has configured a biodiversity characterized by a high level of endemism in ecosystems. Chile's vascular flora contains approximately between 5500 and 6000 species, without including subspecies and varieties. Although the number of species, compared with other South American countries, is not especially high, the most prominent trait of Chilean vascular flora is the presence of close to 50% endemic plant species, which gives the Chilean vascular flora a marked uniqueness [1]. Chilean apicultural production is defined by a high variety of honey types which contain a high percentage of nectar obtained from native plant species. The portion of nectar originating from native plants related to the endemism of Chilean flora result in the production of honey with unique characteristics.

The production of native and endemic monofloral honey is segregated into two large geographical areas: the first area corresponds to the central zone of Chile and the second corresponds to a region with a climatic transition from humid Mediterranean (VIII Region) to temperate humid (X Region). The central zone of Chile is of the five regions in the world that has a Mediterranean climate. It is characterized by a high level of endemism and biodiversity. Matorral is the dominant vegetal community in this zone. Characteristic matorral species include *Baccharis concave* (chilca), *Peumus boldus* (boldo), *Lithraea caustica* (litre), *Trevoa trinervis* (tevo), and *Q. saponaria* (soapbark tree). The central zone is characterized by the production of endemic monofloral honey from the quillay (*Q. saponaria*) and corontillo (*Escallonia pulverulenta*) species, while the southern zone, characterized by temperate forests, is characterized by native unifloral honey made from avellano *(Gevuina avellana)*, ulmo *(E. cordifolia)*, and tineo *(Weinmannia trichosperma)* [2].
