Hibiscus fragilis
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Hibiscus fragilis |
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Hibiscus fragilis (kreolisch: Mandrinette) is a very rare Strauchart the genus Hibiscus from the family of the Malvaceae (Malvaceae). The plant is found exclusively on the island of Mauritius , where it has been pushed back by human influence. In 2000 there were only 36 plants left in two locations.
description
Hibiscus fragilis is an evergreen , often short-branched, low-growing shrub that reaches a height of up to 1.50 meters, its trunk and branches are covered with star hairs ; likewise the 1.3 to 5 centimeters long, red petiole . The 4.1 to 8 centimeters long and 2.5 to 5.5 centimeters wide elliptical blade is round to slightly heart-shaped at the leaf base and tapers at the extreme end. The upper half of the leaf margin is sawn or notched, along the hand-shaped vein there are scattered star hairs on both sides.
The axillary single flowers on 3 to 7.5 centimeter long pedicels are hermaphroditic. The outer cup consists of six to eight linear bracts , which are densely covered with star hair and 10 to 15 millimeters long and 1.5 to 2 millimeters wide. The calyx tapers towards the base, the overgrown part is 25 to 30 millimeters long and 6 to 8 millimeters wide at the base. The five calyx tips, densely covered with star hair, each measure 12 to 20 millimeters in length and 7 to 8 millimeters in width. The crown has a diameter of 5 to 9 centimeters, the pink to crimson petals are equally spread out. The Columna protruding beyond the crown is 20 millimeters long and 7 to 8 millimeters thick, the stamens are yellow. The stylus is 0.5 to 1 cm longer than the columna and divides into five hairy branches, each of the branches bears a light orange scar . The ovary is densely covered with star hair. The fruit is a capsule about 2 centimeters in diameter, the hairy seeds measure 4 millimeters in diameter.
Spread and endangerment
The species occurs only in two places on the island of Mauritius , on dry steep slopes of the mountains Corps de Garde (2000: 10 plants) and the summit of Le Morne Brabant (2000: 26 plants). The holotype came as declared by the collector of Reunion , but the type was here since then not again be found. Either the species is already extinct there or the locus classicus is not correct, there are doubts about that too.
The main reason for the decline in lies in the introduction of other hibiscus species to Mauritius, which also hybridize with Hibiscus fragilis , the few remaining pure plants are unable to reproduce. Both in local stations on Mauritius and in the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew , ten different individuals are kept as clones in conservation cultures.
Systematics and research history
The species was first described in 1824 by Augustin Pyrame de Candolle based on a collection by Bory St Vincent from Réunion in 1821. The type epitheton fragilis (= brittle, fragile) probably refers to the branches of the plant.
Together with Hibiscus bernieri , Hibiscus perrieri , Hibiscus liliastrum , Hibiscus schizopetalus , Hibiscus kokio , Hibiscus arnottianus , Hibiscus waimeae , Hibiscus storckii , Hibiscus denisonii , Hibiscus rosa-sinensis , Hibiscus liliflorus , Hibiscus boryanus and Hibiscus Genevi it forms the section Lilibiscus the genus. Cladistic studies of the section in the mid-1990s confirmed their monophyly regardless of the widespread distribution on the Mascarene Islands and in the Pacific with simultaneous absence in the regions in between.
Cultural history
A photo of Hibiscus fragilis by nature photographer Patricia Caulfield , published in 1960 in the magazine Modern Photography , served Andy Warhol as the basis for one of his well-known screen prints in 1964; he took up the motif again in 1974 for a large painting ( "Flowers" ).
proof
- ↑ a b c d e f Steve Cafferty, Martin Cheek: HIBISCUS FRAGILIS Malvaceae In: Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 13: 4, pp. 210-214, 1996
- ↑ a b Hibiscus fragilis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Bachraz & Strahm, 2000. Accessed on 24 February, 2009.
- ↑ Website: gallerywarhol.com: ANDY WARHOL Flower 1964. Pop Art, Edition Prints and Original Paintings for sale. , Accessed February 13, 2011
