Brunfelsia plowmaniana
| Brunfelsia plowmaniana | ||||||||||||
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Brunfelsia plowmaniana |
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| Brunfelsia plowmaniana | ||||||||||||
| Filipowicz & M.Nee |
Brunfelsia plowmaniana is a plant type from the family of the nightshade family (Solanaceae), which in the cloud forests of Bolivian and Argentinean Andes is located. It was first described in 2012by representatives of the genus Brunfelsia based on DNA barcoding . Specimens belonging to this new species were previously classified in a polymorphic species Brunfelsia uniflora , which molecular-biological phylogenetic studies have revealed as polyphyletic .
description
The shrubs or small trees usually have a single trunk that can reach a diameter of up to 14 centimeters at the base. They only branch above the base and typically grow to 1 to 4 and sometimes up to 10 meters in height. The bark peels off or flakes, is light gray or yellow-brown. The branches with new twigs are densely covered with hairs up to 0.3 millimeters long , but on older branches a smooth and hairless bark can be found. The length of the internodes ranges from 4 to 12 millimeters.
The shiny, dark green leaves are scattered along the branches and are often covered with hair, especially on the younger branches. They are variable in size and shape, but are usually widest above the middle and have a relatively suddenly tapered tip, similar to many myrtle plants (Myrtaceae). The raised and somewhat cartilaginous ring in the crown throat is somewhat reminiscent of the species of the genus Prestonia ( Apocynaceae ) from the same region. This may reflect an adaptation to the foraging behavior of pollinators. Nothing is directly known about the pollinators, but the flower characteristics described are common to other South American Brunfelsia species that have been observed to be pollinated by butterflies. The stomata are paracytic .
The flower stands solitary, terminal and is often nodding, during the day it is fragrant. Both sepals and petals are partially fused, the latter are purple in color, whereby the color fades with age, as is often the case with the South American Brunfelsia species. The four stamens are fused with the crown. The ovary is bicameral and synkarp. The fruit is inversely ovate, leathery, capsule-shaped and reaches about 1 centimeter in diameter. It is likely green and could turn dark purple or black as it ripens. They contain about nine egg-shaped seeds that are about 6 millimeters long. There have been no observations of fully ripe fruits or of the mechanisms by which the seeds spread. Herbarium specimens with ripe or almost ripe fruits always show them neatly from the tip to about 1/3 of the length in two equal flaps.
Naming
The species was named in honor of the American botanist Timothy Plowman (1944-1989). He worked on Neotropical plants of ethnobotanical importance and prepared the first comprehensive taxonomic treatises on the genus Brunfelsia .
Molecular biological diagnosis
The new species differs from all other species of the genus Brunfelsia at different nucleotide positions of the plastid - ndhF -Genes and in the nuclear internal transcribed spacer region.
distribution
Brunfelsia plowmaniana is known from humid forests in the provinces of Salta and Jujuy in northwest Argentina and from the departments of Santa Cruz , Cochabamba and La Paz ( Inquisivi province ) in Bolivia . It grows at altitudes of 1500 to 3200 meters on the mountain ridges that run predominantly from north to south, divided by dry to arid bushes in the valleys in between. It is presumably to be found in the southern part of the range in the lower, in the north in the higher altitudes. The species has never been collected in the neighboring provinces of Sud Yungas , Nor Yungas and Larecaja in the relatively well-explored central and northern part of the La Paz department.
Locations
Brunfelsia plowmaniana comes exclusively in the humid or cloud forests of the Andes before and shares its habitat with ferns as Dicksonia sellowiana and with representatives of the families of podocarpaceae (Podocarpaceae), Birch Family (Betulaceae), Cunoniaceae , myrtle (Myrtaceae), clethraceae (Clethraceae) and Honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae) and many other nightshade plants. About one in three specimens of Brunfelsia plowmaniana is closely associated with epiphytic lichens , mosses and liverworts , which reflect the peculiarities of the cloud forest habitat.
Endangerment status
The species is often found on heavily grazed lower boundaries of the cloud forest, where grazing, deforestation, and fire threaten local populations. Although the range is narrow, it extends for half a mile and many populations are in undisturbed or protected areas.
proof
Main sources
- Natalia Filipowicz, Michael H. Nee, Susanne S. Renner: Description and molecular diagnosis of a new species of Brunfelsia (Solanaceae) from the Bolivian and Argentinean Andes . In: PhytoKeys , Volume 10, Issue 83, 2012. doi : 10.3897 / phytokeys.10.2558
Individual evidence
- ↑ Timothy C. Plowman (author), Sandra Knapp, JR Press (ed.): A Revision of the South American Species of Brunfelsia (Solanaceae) . Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago August 1998, ISBN 978-9998104693 . (Fieldiana Botany, New Series, number 39).
- ^ Timothy C. Plowman: Systematic notes on the Solanaceae. In: Hawkes JG (Ed.): Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , Volume 76, 1978. pp. 294-295.
- ↑ Timothy C. Plowman: The genus Brunfelsia: A conspectus of the taxonomy and biogeography . In: Hawkes JG, Lester RN, Skelding AD (Eds.): The Biology and Taxonomy of the Solanaceae . Academic Press, London, 1978. pp. 475-491.
