Lobelia deckenii

Last updated

Lobelia deckenii
Lobelia gregoriana.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Campanulaceae
Genus: Lobelia
Species:
L. deckenii
Binomial name
Lobelia deckenii
Synonyms [1]

Dortmanna deckenii(Asch.) Kuntze
Tupa deckeniiAsch.
Tupa kersteniiVatke

Contents

Lobelia deckenii is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae. [3] It is a giant lobelia endemic to the mountains of Tanzania. [1] It is listed as a threatened plant of the forests of Cherangani hills, Kenya. [4] It grows in moist areas, such as valley bottoms and moorland, in contrast to Lobelia telekii which grows in a similar but drier habitat. These two species produce occasional hybrids. Lobelia deckenii plants usually produce multiple rosettes. Each rosette grows for several decades, produces a single large inflorescence and hundreds of thousands of seeds, then dies. Because individual plants have multiple rosettes, they survive to reproduce repeatedly, and plants with more rosettes flower more frequently. It is iteroparous. [5]

Lobelia deckenii plants usually form between one and eighteen rosettes which are connected underground. The individual rosettes grow slowly in the alpine environment, [5] and may take decades to reach reproductive size. The rosette that produces an inflorescence dies after flowering, but the remaining connected rosettes live on. [5]

Lobelia deckenii is the only alpine species of lobelia that is native to Kilimanjaro, [6] occurring between 3,800 and 4,300 m (12,500 and 14,100 ft). [7]

Lobelia deckenii subsp. keniensis is the variety of Lobelia deckenii that occurs on Mount Kenya, between 3,300 and 4,600 m (10,800 and 15,100 ft). It is eaten less by rock hyrax than Lobelia telekii , which occurs more often in hyrax habitat. The lobelia species on Mount Kenya are both pollinated by birds, [8] [9] especially the scarlet-tufted sunbird and the alpine chat. [10]

This species of giant lobelia is known for the reservoirs of water held in its rosettes, which freeze at night and protect the apical meristem which is contained in a dense central leaf bud. When this reservoir is drained, the temperature of the inner meristem drops below freezing, which does not occur when the fluid is left intact. [11] The crescent-shaped ice cubes formed in these rosettes gave rise to the nickname, "gin and tonic lobelia".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montane grasslands and shrublands</span> Biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund

Montane grasslands and shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than the ecological term that denotes the region below the treeline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Kenya</span> Highest mountain in Kenya

Mount Kenya is an extinct volcano in Kenya and the second-highest peak in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian, Nelion and Point Lenana. Mount Kenya is located in the former Eastern and Central provinces of Kenya; its peak is now the intersection of Meru, Embu, Kirinyaga, Nyeri and Tharaka Nithi counties, about 16.5 kilometres south of the equator, around 150 km (90 mi) north-northeast of the capital Nairobi. Mount Kenya is the source of the name of the Republic of Kenya.

<i>Heliconia</i> Genus of plants

Heliconia is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the western Pacific and Maluku in Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in the tropical forests of these regions. Most species are listed as either vulnerable or data deficient by the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Several species are widely cultivated as ornamentals, and a few are naturalized in Florida, Gambia, and Thailand.

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

The family Campanulaceae, of the order Asterales, contains nearly 2400 species in 84 genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often with milky sap. Among them are several familiar garden plants belonging to the genera Campanula (bellflower), Lobelia, and Platycodon (balloonflower). Campanula rapunculus and Codonopsis lanceolata are eaten as vegetables. Lobelia inflata, L. siphilitica and L. tupa and others have been used as medicinal plants. Campanula rapunculoides may be a troublesome weed, particularly in gardens, while Legousia spp. may occur in arable fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sámuel Teleki (explorer)</span>

Count Sámuel Teleki de Szék was a Hungarian explorer who led the first expedition to Northern Kenya. He was the first European to see Lake Turkana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock hyrax</span> Species of mammal in the family Procaviidae

The rock hyrax, also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the dassie, it is one of the five living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only one in the genus Procavia. Rock hyraxes weigh 4–5 kg (8.8–11.0 lb) and have short ears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine plant</span> Plants that grow at high elevation

Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses, sedges, forbs, cushion plants, mosses, and lichens. Alpine plants are adapted to the harsh conditions of the alpine environment, which include low temperatures, dryness, ultraviolet radiation, wind, drought, poor nutritional soil, and a short growing season.

<i>Dendrosenecio keniodendron</i> Species of flowering plant

Dendrosenecio keniodendron or giant groundsel is a species of the genus Dendrosenecio of the large family Asteraceae and is one of the several species of giant groundsels endemic to the high altitudes of the Afrotropics, including Dendrosenecio johnstonii (Senecio battiscombei) occurring on Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, and the Aberdare Mountains, Dendrosenecio keniensis occurring the lower alpine zone of Mount Kenya and D. keniodendron occurring in higher and drier sites on Mount Kenya. The giant rosette plants, sometimes 6 metres (20 ft) tall, often grow in even-sized stands, with different understory communities under different-aged stands.

<i>Dendrosenecio keniensis</i> Species of plant

Dendrosenecio keniensis is one of the giant groundsels endemic the higher altitudes of Mount Kenya. It is in the family Asteraceae and the genus Dendrosenecio. Dendrosenecio keniodendron occurs the upper alpine zone of Mount Kenya and D. keniensis in the wetter areas of the lower alpine or the moorlands.

<i>Lobelia telekii</i> Species of flowering plant

Lobelia telekii is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae, that is found only in the alpine zones of Mount Kenya, Mount Elgon, and the Aberdare Mountains of East Africa. It occurs at higher altitudes on well-drained sloped hillsides. It is a semelparous species, putting all its reproductive effort into producing single large inflorescence up to 3 metres (10 ft) tall, and then dying. Inflorescences of L. telekii also possesses a large pith-volume for internal water storage and marcescent foliage which could provide insulation. It secretes a polysaccharide into this reservoir, which may be useful for its survival in the cold climate. The plant is named after the Austro-Hungarian explorer, Count Sámuel Teleki.

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

Dendrosenecio is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. It is a segregate of Senecio, in which it formed the subgenus Dendrosenecio. Its members, the giant groundsels, are native to the higher altitude zones of ten mountain groups in equatorial East Africa, where they form a conspicuous element of the flora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant lobelia</span> Index of plants with the same common name

Giant lobelia is a common name for several plants in the genus Lobelia and may refer to:

Dendrosenecio meruensis is one of the East African giant groundsel, this one is endemic to the slopes of Mount Meru. Once they were considered to be of the genus Senecio but since then have been reclassified into their own genus Dendrosenecio.

Dendrosenecio johnstonii, formerly Senecio johnstonii, is a species of giant groundsel found in the middle altitudes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. A recent botanical reclassification split off some species formerly in Senecio, putting the giant groundsels in the new genus Dendrosenecio. It also redefined the former species Senecio cottonii, as a subspecies of Dendrosenecio johnstonii. Both genera are in the family Asteraceae. The giant grounsels of the genus Dendrosenecio evolved, about a million years ago, from a Senecio that established itself on Mount Kilimanjaro, with those that survived adapting into Dendrosenecio kilimanjari. As it moved down the mountain, the adaptations necessary for the new environment created the new species, Dendrosenecio johnstonii. Various subspecies are found on other mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural history of Mount Kenya</span>

The flora and fauna of Mount Kenya are diverse, due to the variation in altitude, rainfall, aspect and temperature. The mountain slopes can be divided into vegetation zones, with each zone having different dominant plant species. Although many plants on Mount Kenya have local names, here they are reported only with their English and scientific names.

Semelparity and iteroparity are two contrasting reproductive strategies available to living organisms. A species is considered semelparous if it is characterized by a single reproductive episode before death, and iteroparous if it is characterized by multiple reproductive cycles over the course of its lifetime. Iteroparity can be further divided into continuous iteroparity and seasonal iteroparity Some botanists use the parallel terms monocarpy and polycarpy.

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

Haplosciadium is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae). Its only species is Haplosciadium abyssinicum. It is a flat rosette plant endemic to the Afro-alpine zones on East African mountains, occurring on moist valley bottoms above 3,500 metres (11,500 ft). It engages in geocarpy as an adaptation to living on frost-heaved soils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherangani Hills Forest</span>

Cherangani Hills Forest is a collection of thirteen forest reserve blocks in western Kenya, located in the Cherangani Hills on the western ridge of the East African Rift. The forested area is about 1,200 square kilometres (463 sq mi), 956 square kilometres (369 sq mi) of which has been gazetted into forest reserves. These forest reserves form the upper catchments of the Kerio and Nzoia and Turkwel rivers.

<i>Lobelia rhynchopetalum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lobelia rhynchopetalum, the giant lobelia, is a plant endemic to Ethiopia. Its habitat is the Afroalpine climate of the Semien Mountains and Bale Mountains National Park. Recent study show that it is under a threat of climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwenzori–Virunga montane moorlands</span> Montane ecoregion in central Africa

The Ruwenzori-Virunga montane moorlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of the Rwenzori Mountains and Virunga Mountains in central Africa.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lobelia deckenii (Asch.) Hemsl". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  2. International Plant Names Index
  3. "Lobelia deckenii (Asch.) Hemsl". World Flora Online. The World Flora Online Consortium. n.d. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  4. Mbuni, Yuvenalis Morara; Zhou, Yadong; Wang, Shengwei; Ngumbau, Veronicah Mutele; Musili, Paul Mutuku; Mutie, Fredrick Munyao; Njoroge, Brian; Kirika, Paul Muigai; Mwachala, Geoffrey; Vivian, Kathambi; Rono, Peninah Cheptoo; Hu, Guangwan; Wang, Qingfeng (18 April 2019). "An annotated checklist of vascular plants of Cherangani hills, Western Kenya". PhytoKeys (120): 1–90. doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.120.30274 . PMC   6483958 . PMID   31065231.
  5. 1 2 3 Young, Truman P. (1984). "The comparative demography of semelparous Lobelia telekii and iteroparous Lobelia keniensis on Mount Kenya". Journal of Ecology. 72 (2): 637–650. Bibcode:1984JEcol..72..637Y. doi:10.2307/2260073. JSTOR   2260073.
  6. Young, T.P. 1991. La flora, fauna y ecología del Monte Kenia y el Kilimanjaro. Pp. 37-49 En: Guía para el Monte Kenia y el Kilimanjaro (Iain Allan, ed.) Mountain Club of Kenya ISBN   978-9966-9856-0-6
  7. Kilimanjaro. Oh rei da áfrica. Revista Planeta, dezembro de 2005.
  8. Young, Truman P. (1982). "Bird visitation, seed set, and germination rates in two species of Lobelia on Mount Kenya". Ecology. 68 (6): 1983–1986. Bibcode:1982Ecol...63.1983Y. doi:10.2307/1940139. JSTOR   1940139.
  9. Burd, Martin (1995). "Pollinator behavioural responses to reward size in Lobelia deckenii: no escape from pollen limitation of seed set". Journal of Ecology. 83 (5): 865–872. Bibcode:1995JEcol..83..865B. doi:10.2307/2261423. JSTOR   2261423.
  10. Smith, Alan P.; Truman P. Young (1987). "Tropical Alpine Plant Ecology". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 18: 137–158. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.18.110187.001033.
  11. Young, Truman P.; Susan Van Orden Robe (1986). "Micro-environmental role of a secreted aqueous solution in afro-alpine Lobelia keniensis". Biotropica. 18 (3): 267–269. doi:10.2307/2388496. JSTOR   2388496.