Lacandonia schismatica

Last updated

Lacandonia schismatica
Lacandonia.PNG
Flower of Lacandonia schismatica
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Pandanales
Family: Triuridaceae
Genus: Lacandonia
Species:
L. schismatica
Binomial name
Lacandonia schismatica
E.Martínez & Ramos

Lacandonia schismatica is a species of mycoheterotrophic plant in the Triuridaceae (although some taxonomists place the genus in a separate family; the Lacandonaceae.). It is endemic to Lacandon Jungle in the State of Chiapas in southern Mexico. [1] It is known from very few populations and is considered endangered by the researchers who investigate this species. [2] It, and its recently discovered relation Lacandonia braziliana, are the only known flowering plants which in its natural population has a spatial inversion of the reproductive floral whorls (ie stamens and carpels): the 2 to 4 stamens are positioned centrally within the flower, and the 60 to 80 carpels arranged in a ring around them. [3] [4] Perhaps even more remarkable than the reversed positions of male and female parts is the unique mode of pollination. The pollen grain never leaves the anther, but sends the pollen tube backwards through the length of the stamen, across the receptacle and then into the pistil from below. [5]

Lacandonia schismatica is known from several small populations at altitudes around 200 m (656 ft) in the Lacandon Jungle. It grows in shady sites within this rainforest. Gerrit Davidse and Esteban Martínez noted in 1990 how the plants are "extremely localized and highly endangered" due to encroaching habitat conversion to cattle pasture. They also explain that the species is difficult to cultivate and therefore they encourage other scientists to study this unique organism's biology before it can no longer be found in the wild. [6] [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flowering plant</span> Clade of seed plants that produce flowers

Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae, commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs, grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of broad-leaved trees, shrubs & vines, and most aquatic plants. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ἀγγεῖον /angeion and σπέρμα / sperma ('seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit. They are by far the most diverse group of land plants with 64 orders, 416 families, approximately 13,000 known genera and 300,000 known species. Angiosperms were formerly called Magnoliophyta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pollination</span> Biological process occurring in plants

Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, and bats; water; wind; and even plants themselves, when self-pollination occurs within a closed flower. Pollination often occurs within a species. When pollination occurs between species, it can produce hybrid offspring in nature and in plant breeding work.

<i>Amborella</i> Species of shrub

Amborella is a monotypic genus of understory shrubs or small trees endemic to the main island, Grande Terre, of New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The genus is the only member of the family Amborellaceae and the order Amborellales and contains a single species, Amborella trichopoda. Amborella is of great interest to plant systematists because molecular phylogenetic analyses consistently place it as the sister group to all other flowering plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lythraceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Lythraceae is a family of flowering plants, including 32 genera, with about 620 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees. The larger genera include Cuphea, Lagerstroemia (56), Nesaea (50), Rotala (45), and Lythrum (35). It also includes the pomegranate and the water caltrop. Lythraceae has a worldwide distribution, with most species in the tropics, but ranging into temperate climate regions as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cistaceae</span> Family of flowering plants comprising rock roses

The Cistaceae are a small family of plants known for their beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom. This family consists of about 170(-200) species in nine genera that are not very distinct, distributed primarily in the temperate areas of Europe and the Mediterranean basin, but also found in North America; a limited number of species are found in South America. Most Cistaceae are subshrubs and low shrubs, and some are herbaceous. They prefer dry and sunny habitats. Cistaceae grow well on poor soils, and many of them are cultivated in gardens.

<i>Cistus ladanifer</i> Species of flowering plants in the rock rose family Cistaceae

Cistus ladanifer is a species of flowering plant in the family Cistaceae. It is native to the western Mediterranean region. Common names include gum rockrose, labdanum, common gum cistus, and brown-eyed rockrose.

<i>Chenopodium pallidicaule</i> Species of plant

Chenopodium pallidicaule, known as cañihua, canihua or cañahua and also kaniwa, is a species of goosefoot, similar in character and uses to the closely related quinoa(Chenopodium quinoa).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LVI Legislature of the Mexican Congress</span>

The LVI Legislature of the Congress of Mexico met from 1994 to 1997.

<i>Nuphar lutea</i> Species of flowering plant

Nuphar lutea, the yellow water-lily, brandy-bottle, or spadderdock, is an aquatic plant of the family Nymphaeaceae, native to northern temperate and some subtropical regions of Europe, northwest Africa, western Asia, North America, and Cuba. This interesting species found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean was used as a food source and in medicinal practices from prehistoric times with potential research and medical applications going forward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proteaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentrations of diversity. Together with the Platanaceae, Nelumbonaceae and in the recent APG IV system the Sabiaceae, they make up the order Proteales. Well-known 'Proteaceae genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea, Hakea and Macadamia. Species such as the New South Wales waratah, king protea, and various species of Banksia, Grevillea, and Leucadendron are popular cut flowers. The nuts of Macadamia integrifolia are widely grown commercially and consumed, as are those of Gevuina avellana on a smaller scale.

Superman is a plant gene in Arabidopsis thaliana, that plays a role in controlling the boundary between stamen and carpel development in a flower. It is named for the comic book character Superman, and the related genes kryptonite (gene) and clark kent were named accordingly. It encodes a transcription factor. Homologous genes are known in the petunia and snapdragon, which are also involved in flower development, although in both cases there are important differences from the functioning in Arabidopsis. Superman is expressed early on in flower development, in the stamen whorl adjacent to the carpel whorl. It interacts with the other genes of the ABC model of flower development in a variety of ways.

The National Prize for Arts and Sciences is awarded annually by the Government of Mexico in six categories. It is part of the Mexican Honours System and was established in 1945. The prize is a gold medal and 520,000 pesos.

<i>Lacandonia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Lacandonia is a mycoheterotrophic plant that contains no chlorophyll and has the unusual characteristic of inverted positions of the male (androecium) and female (gynoecium) floral parts, something that had not been seen in any other plants, with the exceptions of Trithuria and on occasion the related Triuris brevistylis.

Triuris is a genus in the family Triuridaceae. It consists of species that are small and achlorophyllous, occurring in tropical Mexico, Guatemala, and northern South America.

<i>Aegialitis</i> Genus of flowering plants

Aegialitis is a genus of two shrubby mangrove species, with one native to Southeast Asia and the other native to Australia and Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabaceae</span> Family of flowering plants comprising hops, hemps, and hackberries

Cannabaceae is a small family of flowering plants, known as the hemp family. As now circumscribed, the family includes about 170 species grouped in about 11 genera, including Cannabis (hemp), Humulus (hops) and Celtis (hackberries). Celtis is by far the largest genus, containing about 100 species.

<i>Echeveria gibbiflora</i> Species of succulent

Echeveria gibbiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae. It was described by Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1828. It occurs in Mexico and Guatemala.

Barbara Ambrose is a botanist working in the field of Plant Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo). As the Director of Laboratory Research at the New York Botanical Garden, Ambrose is a prolific scholar and leader and mentor in her field who is interested in patterns in plant diversity on macro and micro scales.

References

  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Davidse, G. & al. (eds.) (1994). Flora Mesoamericana 6: 1-543. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F.
  3. Vergara‐Silva, Francisco; Espinosa‐Matías, Silvia; Ambrose, Barbara A.; Vázquez‐Santana, Sonia; Martínez‐Mena, Alejandro; Márquez‐Guzmán, Judith; Martínez, Esteban; Meyerowitz, Elliot M.; Alvarez‐Buylla, Elena R. (2003). "Inside‐Out Flowers Characteristic of Lacandonia schismatica Evolved at Least before Its Divergence from a Closely Related Taxon, Triuris brevistylis". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 164 (3): 345–357. doi:10.1086/368235. ISSN   1058-5893.
  4. Davidse, Gerrit; Martinez, Esteban (December 1990). "Chromosome Number of Lacandonia schizmatica (Lacandoniaceae)". Systematic Botany. 15 (4): 635.
  5. Mestel, Rosie (January 1995). "Is that a Pistil in Your Pocket?". Discover. 16 (1): 88-89.
  6. Márquez-Guzmán, J., Vázquez-Santana, S., Engleman, E. M., Martínez-Mena, A., and Martínez, E. (1993). Pollen development and fertilization in Lacandonia schismatica (Lacandoniaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden , 80(4): 891-897.
  7. Davidse, G. and Martínez, E. (1990). The chromosome number of Lacandonia schismatica (Lacandoniaceae). Systematic Botany, 15(4): 635-637.
  8. Francisco Vergara-Silva, Silvia Espinosa-Matías, Barbara A. Ambrose, Sonia Vázquez-Santana, Alejandro Martínez-Mena, Judith Márquez-Guzmán, Esteban Martínez, Elliot M. Meyerowitz, and Elena R. Alvarez-Buylla. (2003). Inside-out flowers characteristic of Lacandonia schismatica evolved at least before its divergence from a closely related taxon, Triuris brevistylis. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 164(3): 345-357.