Hunzikeria
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| D'Arcy |
Hunzikeria is a genus of plants fromthe nightshade family (Solanaceae). The genus is assigned to three species that are distributed in the southwest of the United States, Mexico and Venezuela.
description
Vegetative characteristics
The Hunzikeria species are small plants, only 8 to 25 cm high, which usually branch out from a perennial root. In the cortex of the stem axis there is no strengthening tissue ( collenchyma ) to be found. Both the phloem and the pith are not fibrous, unlike the pericycle . The hairs are similar to those of the closely related genus Leptoglossis : Both glandular and non-glandular trichomes exist , but in contrast to Leptoglossis only glandular trichomes with unicellular heads and exclusively unbranched, non-glandular trichomes occur. The leaves are on 3 to 10 mm long petioles, the leaf blades are sloping down the trunk, (6) 16 to 25 (35) mm long and (2) 4 to 9 (15) mm wide.
blossoms
The flowers stand alone or in pairs on pedicels that are shorter or slightly longer than the calyx . This is 7 to 12 mm long, has a diameter of 6 to 11 and is funnel-shaped, bell-shaped or inverted cone-shaped. The plate-shaped crown is pink or purple and 14 to 30 mm long. At the upper end of the crown base is a small, throat-shaped enlargement that contains the androeceum . The edge of the petals is very wide with 10 to 23 mm. The four stamens are two- shaped mainly due to the length of the stamens, with Hunzikeria steyermarkia the anthers are of the same shape and the two North American species have two different forms of anthers. Occasionally a degenerated fifth stamen is present. The anthers have a size of 0.9 to 1.3 mm. Characteristic of the genus, the specially shaped are pollen , the irregular bulges have that, especially in the tectum occur and by short, grainy Columella (rod-shaped elements) are accompanied. The size of the pollen is medium with 27 to 36 µm, they are elongated or flattened spherical shaped. The nectaries are inverted and bilobed.
Fruits and seeds
The fruits are almost spherical capsules that are slightly longer than wide and about 4 mm long and are hidden at the bottom of the slightly enlarged calyx. There are about seven to 40 kidney-shaped seeds with a size of 1.1 to 1.5 mm long in the fruit . The seed coat (testa) consists either of four to seven ridges that alternate with furrows or is finely shaped like a honeycomb. The endosperm is abundant.
Other specifications
The base chromosome numbers of single type examined so far Hunzikeria texana is , the type is diploid ( ).
Systematics and distribution
The genus was named in honor of the Argentine botanist Armando Theodoro Hunziker (1919-2001). Only three species are distinguished within the genus:
- Hunzikeria texana (Torrey) D'Arcy : It occurs in the southwest of the USA and in Mexico .
- Hunzikeria coulteri (A. Gray) D'Arcy : It occurs in the southwest of the USA and in Mexico .
- Hunzikeria steyermarkiana D'Arcy : It occurs in Venezuela .
literature
- Armando T. Hunziker: The Genera of Solanaceae . ARG Gantner Verlag KG, Ruggell, Liechtenstein 2001. ISBN 3-904144-77-4 .