It grows in Chile from 33° to 36° South latitude, up to 1200 m (4000 ft) above sea level in elevation.

An endangered associate tree is the Chilean wine palm,[1] whose distribution was much wider prehistorically.

It produces white flowers with bell-shaped corolla of five petals, the fruit is a capsule which is orange-colored when mature.

According to Chilean folklore the patagua originates from women who cried before God in repentance of their sins.

It has been introduced successfully as ornamental in New Zealand, California, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and some parts of England, although it does not flower as freely in the United Kingdom as the equally ornamental and more widely cultivated Crinodendron hookerianum, which is red or pink-flowered.