Nectouxia formosa
| Nectouxia formosa | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Nectouxia | ||||||||||||
| Kunth | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Nectouxia formosa | ||||||||||||
| Kunth |
Nectouxia formosa is a species of plant inthe nightshade family (Solanaceae). It is the only species in the genus Nectouxia .
description
Vegetative characteristics
Nectouxia formosa are cryptophytic (which persist for a long time by means of underground organs), herbaceous plants that reach a height of 20 to 60 cm. The plants are a bit offensive. As the plants dry, they become significantly darker. The permanent organs are fleshy rhizomes that have fine, scale-like lower leaves . The stem grows upright, is glandular and hairy with simple trichomes with single or multicellular trichome heads.
The leaves are ovate to broadly ovate, the leaf blades 4 to 7 (rarely up to 10) cm long, thus longer than the petioles. The tip is pointed or sharp-pointed, the base usually heart-shaped.
blossoms
The flowers are solitary, pendulous to nodding on 1 to 2 cm long pedicels. The radially symmetrical calyx is 11 to 19 (24) mm long, five-divided, the sepals are separated from each other almost to the base. The individual segments are about 12 × 0.5 to 1.5 mm in size, rough-haired with up to 2 mm long and, in contrast to the trichomes on the rest of the plant, more conspicuous trichomes. The yellow or yellow-green crown is radially symmetrical, overcup-shaped, hairless and 18 to 25 (43) mm long. The corolla tube merges into a splayed coronet, which forms five short, ovoid to broad ovoid or somewhat pointed corolla lobes at the edge. These are initially upright, later protruding. Their size is about 15 × 6 mm. At the transition between the corolla tube and the hem there is a ring-shaped wreath that is about 2 to 4 mm high. When dry, the petals turn dark brown to black.
The stamens, which are completely or almost completely in the corolla, are fixed near the distal edge of the corolla tube. The stamens are 2.8 to 3.8 mm long, the two theca are free from each other in the lower 1/3 to 1/4. Dorsally they are covered with an approximately 1.5 mm long plate-shaped extension of the stamens.
The two-leaved ovary is conical in shape, the nectaries are very clearly formed. The stylus is terminal, the scar is disc-shaped, small and severely dented.
Fruits and seeds
The fruits are berries , which are usually pointed, 2 to 3 cm in length and contain about ten seeds . These are flat, kidney-shaped, indented, smooth and 1.8 to 2.5 mm long. The embryo is twisted, the cotyledons are slightly longer than the rest of the embryo. The endosperm is sparse.
Occurrence
Nectouxia formosa grows endemically in forests and meadows of the mountains of the Central Mexican Cordillera and the Sierra Madre Oriental . There they can be found at altitudes between 2,000 and 3,000 m. There are also occurrences in northeast Chihuahua and in northern Texas , near the Mexican border.
Systematics
The genus is close to the genus Salpichroa . Since there is still a lack of information on important characteristics such as anatomy, karyography and phytochemistry , it is possible that the only species in the genus will be assigned to the Salpichroina when these details become known .
literature
- Armando T. Hunziker: The Genera of Solanaceae . ARG Gantner Verlag KG, Ruggell, Liechtenstein 2001. ISBN 3-904144-77-4 .