Guaitecas cypress

Indigenous sea-faring nomads of the Chono and Kawésqars groups used Pilgerodendron uviferum as firewood as well as wood for oars, boats and houses. During the Antonio de Vea expedition (1675–1676) Spanish explorers visited the Guaitecas and Chonos archipelagoes where the tree grew noticing the similarity to the "cypresses of Spain". Historically the wood was used to make railway sleepers, but eventually became popular for use as timber in all types of construction. In the 1860s, Felipe Westhoff was one of various businessmen who exported Pilgerodendron uviferum north to Chilean and Peruvian ports. Westhoff, who was based in Ancud, came initially as an agent of Ferrocarril Central Andino in Peru to purchase sleepers but soon became an independent businessman. The town of Melinka was established in 1860 during the Pilgerodendron boom. This was the first permanent settlement in the Guaitecas Archipelago. After Westhoff's retirement in the 1870s, Ciriaco Álvarez, a native of Chonchi, rose as the most prominent P. uviferum businessman in the area, and was dubbed "The King of Pilgerodendron" (Spanish: El Rey del Ciprés). Many of the wooden structures in settlements of the southern Chilean archipelagos are built largely from P. uviferum wood. Foraging by southern pudu is thought to be detrimental for the regeneration of burned forests of Pilgerodendron uviferum.

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