['Multi-stemmed trees (tree clusters) in Nothofagus pumilio, a dominant tree species in Patagonia, are very uncommon and are restricted to the edge of second-growth forests following human-provoked fires. No vegetative reproduction has been reported so far. The genetic structure of multi-stemmed trees of this species was investigated and it was hypothesized that genets within a cluster were more closely related than average in the population.', 'Fifteen clusters (composed of at least three purported stems) and 15 single trees were sampled at the edge of a second-growth forest and genotyped using two amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) primer pairs. We obtained 119 polymorphic markers that allowed clonality to be determined, together with sibship structure and relatedness among samples.', 'Clonality was detected in seven clusters but all clusters had at least two different genotypes. Full sibs were found exclusively within clusters and in all clusters. Within a cluster, stems that were not identified as full sibs were often half sibs. Relatedness values for the full sibs and half sibs were higher than the theoretical values of 0·5 and 0·25 but the relatedness between clusters was very low.'] Are multi-stemmed trees of Nothofagus pumilio second-growth forest in Patagonia formed by highly related individuals?