''Columnea consanguinea'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s in the genus ''
Columnea
''Columnea'' is a genus of around 200 species of epiphytic herbs and shrubs in the family Gesneriaceae, native to the tropics of the Americas and the Caribbean. The tubular or oddly shaped flowers are usually large and brightly colored – u ...
''. They are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to
Colombia,
Costa Rica,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
, and
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
. They are distinctive for possessing red translucent heart-shaped markings on their leaves that serve to attract their main
pollinators - the
hummingbird ''
Heliodoxa jacula'' - to their more inconspicuous
flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s.
The species was first described by
Johannes von Hanstein
Johannes Ludwig Emil Robert von Hanstein (15 May 1822 – 27 August 1880) was a German botanist who was a native of Potsdam.
He attended classes at the ''Gärtnerlehranstalt'' (Institute of Horticulture) in Potsdam, and later studied sciences in ...
in 1865. It is classified under the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Gesneriaceae
Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Gesnerioideae), wi ...
.
Description
''Columnea consanguinea'' is a
shrub-like
herb with unbranched pale brown and hairy stems that grow to a maximum length of around long. Their leaves are borne on
stalks around in length, and arranged in an
opposite pattern along the stems. However, one leaf in each pair is a great deal smaller than the other leaf, giving the impression that the leaves are arranged alternately.
The larger leaf blades are lanceolate with unequal sides. They are about long and wide. They are smooth on the upper surface and slightly hairy on the lower surface. They are predominantly dark green in color but bear characteristic translucent bright red heart-shaped markings on the underside of their leaves. The markings are visible on the upper surface as yellow-green areas. The smaller leaves in the pairs are only in length, and about in width. They are located flush to the stems and look like small sheaths.
The small tubular flowers arise from the stem near the bases of the leaves. They are about long and wide. The petals are pale yellow in color while the
calyx can be green to red. They bloom all throughout the year and develop into small numerous yellow fruits.
''Columnea consanguinea'' closely resemble ''
Columnea florida''. The latter also has red heart-shaped markings on their leaves but can be distinguished by the teeth-like (pectinate) edges of their flower calyces.
Ecology
''Columnea consanguinea'' have relatively small and drab flowers. In order to attract their main
pollinators, the
nectarivorous
In zoology, a nectarivore is an animal which derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants.
Nectar as a food source presents a number of benefits a ...
Green-crowned Brilliant (''
Heliodoxa jacula''),
they instead use the markings on their leaves.
Sunlight filtering through the translucent patches on their leaves give them a brilliant red color, reminiscent of
stained-glass window
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
s.
Hummingbirds, like all birds, possess excellent color vision greater than that of humans. They are attracted to the red color of the markings and can then find their way to the flowers to feed. In doing so, they pollinate the flowers of ''C. consanguinea''.
The same strategy is used by ''C. florida'', which also have red markings on their leaves.
Distribution and habitat
''Columnea consanguinea'' grow in tropical
rainforests at altitudes of
above sea level. They can be found either growing on the ground (terrestrial) or on the trunks of trees (
epiphytic
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
).
They are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to
Colombia,
Costa Rica,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
, and
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
''Columnea consanguinea'' was first described by the German botanist
Johannes von Hanstein
Johannes Ludwig Emil Robert von Hanstein (15 May 1822 – 27 August 1880) was a German botanist who was a native of Potsdam.
He attended classes at the ''Gärtnerlehranstalt'' (Institute of Horticulture) in Potsdam, and later studied sciences in ...
in 1865. Though Hanstein mistakenly assumed that the
type specimen
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...
s were from the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
,
they were actually collected by the German botanist
Hermann Wendland
Hermann Wendland (October 11, 1825 in Herrenhausen – January 12, 1903 in Hanover) was a German botanist and gardener.
He was a noted authority on the family Arecaceae (palms), on which he published a major monograph which formed the basis for ...
on March 24, 1857 from Costa Rica.
The generic name ''
Columnea
''Columnea'' is a genus of around 200 species of epiphytic herbs and shrubs in the family Gesneriaceae, native to the tropics of the Americas and the Caribbean. The tubular or oddly shaped flowers are usually large and brightly colored – u ...
'' was named by
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...
after the
Latinized spelling of the name of the 16th-century Italian botanist
Fabio Colonna (Latin: ''Fabius Columnus'').
Hanstein did not explain the etymology of the
specific epithet, but ''
consanguinea'' is Latin for "with blood".
It is classified under the genus ''Columnea'' in the
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
Episcieae, subfamily Gesnerioideae, of the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Gesneriaceae
Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Gesnerioideae), wi ...
.
The German botanist
Hans Wiehler Hans Joachim Wiehler (8 July 1930 in Klecie, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Klettendorf – 2003) was a German botanist who specialized in the plant family Gesneriaceae. In 1954 he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana a ...
reclassified it under a separate genus as ''Dalbergaria consanguinea'' in 1973. Wiehler's classification, however, has not gained acceptance among other specialists. Most notably, the American botanist
Laurence Skog of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
prefers to treat them as belonging to the genus ''Columnea''.
Three
varieties
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
are currently recognized:
*''Columnea consanguinea'' var. ''adpressa''
B.D. Morley
::- Found in Costa Rica and Panama
*''Columnea consanguinea'' var. ''consanguinea''
Hanst.
:::
( =) ''Dalbergaria consanguinea''
(Hanst.) Wiehler
::- Found in
Antioquia,
Chocó,
Risaralda, and
Valle del Cauca of Colombia,
Esmeraldas in Ecuador, and Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.
*''Columnea consanguinea'' var. ''darienensis''
(C.V. Morton) B.D. Morley
:::
(=) ''Columnea darienensis''
C.V. Morton
:::
(=) ''Dalbergaria darienensis''
(C.V. Morton) Wiehler
::- Found in the
Darién Gap
The Darién Gap (, , es, Tapón del Darién , ) is a geographic region between the North and South American continents within Central America, consisting of a large watershed, forest, and mountains in Panama's Darién Province and the norther ...
region in the border between Colombia and Panama
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4036426
consanguinea
Flora of Colombia
Flora of Costa Rica
Flora of Ecuador
Flora of Nicaragua
Flora of Panama
Plants described in 1865