Philcoxia minensis

Philcoxia minensis is a plant from the family of plantain plants, which occurs exclusively in Brazil. It was first described only in 2000 using a single Aufsammlung 1981. Recent research demonstrated that it is carnivorous.

Description

Philcoxia minensis is probably a perennial herbaceous plant and reaches a height 10-26 centimeters.

The root system is not branched to pale, gnarled and orange, the horizontally extending, unbranched rhizome is 0.5 to 5 inches long and 0.25 inches thick, wiry, glabrous, at first white, later by a dark orange.

At the root tip and along the rhizome plants form upright, lump- like stalks that remain entirely underground and reach a length of 2 to 5 millimeters. These are five to ten leaves are irregularly arranged in a rosette, the petioles run mostly underground so that the leaf blades come to rest on the floor. Occasionally the rose stems directly the rhizome, then it is composed of one to six alternate arranged leaves, the tissue of the leaf stalks can be poorly distinguished from the rhizome, from the stalks outgoing they reach lengths of 0.5 to 3 inches, on the rhizome 0.1 to 2 centimeters.

The leaves are stalked ganzrandigen plate -like and roundish to narrow kidney-shaped, the spreading of a diameter of 1.5 mm, petioles 14 to 24 millimeters long, their underside is glabrous. The young leaves are rolled completely underground and a spiral manner during growth and unroll until during its ( circinate Verna Transportation ). This type of leaf growth is found in angiosperms extremely rare and almost exclusively in carnivorous plants. Only the mature leaves break through the soil surface and then unfold there then the longitudinally folded leaves.

On top of the leaves are covered with stalked glands that secrete a sticky secretion. On closer examination, many caught nematodes could be identified on the leaf surface. However, first tests showed no evidence of the excretion of digestive enzymes, a carnivory in the classic sense, therefore, is not available. Researchers at the University of Campinas in São Paulo, presented in an attempt to firmly but that nutrients are absorbed from the prey by the plant. For this, the nematodes used were nitrogen 15, an isotope of the gas, checked, which was then included in the newly grown leaves.

The upright inflorescence is simple or branched, 17 to 21 inches high and is occupied in the upper part with glands. The bracts are ovate to triangular, 1.5 mm long and 0.5 mm wide. The flower stalks are nearly erect, 11 to 27 millimeters long and towards the tip covered with stalked glands that secrete a sticky secretion. These glands are also found on the ovate - lanceolate and pointed ending sepals that are 1 to 1.5 mm long and about 0.5 mm wide. The pale blue crown has an approximately 4 mm long corolla tube, the flower lobes are circular to broadly inversely - ovate, the upper one is about 2 mm long, the lower 3 The filament is 0.6 to 0.7 mm long and glabrous, the anthers 0.5 mm long and elliptical. The ovary is nearly round, about 0.8 millimeters long, the stylus around 2 millimeters in length and inversely conical. The nearly round fruit capsule has a diameter of 2.5 millimeters.

Dissemination

The species is endemic to the Serra do Cabral in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, where it grows on open sites with pure quartz sand soils.

Botanical history

As part of the first description of the genus on the basis of later Philcoxia bahiensis research promoted another, in 1981 collected Herbarexemplar evident. The specimen was in poor condition and without exact location, but could be determined as a second species of the genus, and was described in 2000, together with the genus and two species. The specific epithet refers to the state of Minas Gerais, home to the kind efforts to re- discovery of the kind were crowned with success in 2007, studies of living specimens enriched the knowledge about the way the genre alike.

Evidence

• Peter W. Fritsch, Frank Almeda, Angela B. Martins, Boni C. Cruz, D. Estes: Rediscovery and Phylogenetic Placement of Philcoxia minensis ( Plantaginaceae ), with a test of Carnivory. In: Proceedings of the Californian Academy of Sciences. 58 (21 ), 2007, pp. 447-467
• Peter Taylor, Vinicius Castro Souza, Ana Maria Giulietti and Raymond Mervin Harley: Philcoxia: a new genus of Scrophulariaceae with three new species from eastern Brazil. In: Kew Bulletin. 55, 2000, pp. 153-163

Sources and notes

• Plantain Family
• Plantaginaceae
• Insect-eating plant