''Sonchus brassicifolius'', synonym ''Dendroseris litoralis'', 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 ...

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 ...

in the daisy and sunflower family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

. It is a small evergreen tree species known as the cabbage tree. It is

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 the

Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands ( es, Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic i ...

, which lie in the southeast Pacific, off the west coast of Chile. It is native only to the tiny, volcanic

Robinson Crusoe Island Robinson Crusoe Island ( es, Isla Róbinson Crusoe, ), formerly known as Más a Tierra (), is the second largest of the Juan Fernández Islands, situated 670 km (362 nmi; 416 mi) west of San Antonio, Chile, in the South Pacific Oc ...

, home of the famed '' Juania australis'' and many other endemic plants. The species is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and has been brought back from the brink of extinction. It had been reduced to only a few individuals by feral goats on the island, and is still considered critically endangered.

Description

Younger trunks of ''Sonchus brassicifolius'' are ringed with pale leaf scars and distinctive rubbery, leathery leaves up to long. It grows into a small, gnarled tree with several somewhat palm-like crowns of very large, ovate leaves on whitish, green-spotted leaf stalks and pendent inflorescences of bright orange,

tassel A tassel is a finishing feature in fabric and clothing decoration. It is a universal ornament that is seen in varying versions in many cultures around the globe. History and use In the Hebrew Bible, the Lord spoke to Moses instructing him to ...

-like 'flowers' ( capitula). It is easy to cultivate and enjoys a cool, humid climate. It is hardy to light freezes and California coastal conditions.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1921 by

Carl Skottsberg Carl Johan Fredrik Skottsberg (1 December 1880 – 14 June 1963) was a Swedish botanist and explorer of Antarctica. Life Skottsberg was born in Karlshamn on 1 December 1880 the son of Carl Adolf Skottsberg a schoolmaster and his wife, Maria L ...

as ''Dendroseris litoralis''. The genus ''Dendroseris'' was considered endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands. In 2012, based on molecular phylogenetic evidence, it was shown that ''Dendroseris'' was embedded within the genus ''Sonchus'', and all its species were transferred to that genus, with ''Dendroseris'' reduced to a subgenus. As the combination ''Sonchus litoralis'' had already been used for a different species, the

replacement name In biological nomenclature, a ''nomen novum'' (Latin for "new name"), new replacement name (or replacement name, new substitute name, substitute name) is a scientific name that is created specifically to replace another scientific name, but only w ...

''Sonchus brassicifolius'' was published.

Edibility

The very large leaves are edible and formed part of the diet of voluntary castaway

Alexander Selkirk Alexander Selkirk (167613 December 1721) was a Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer who spent four years and four months as a castaway (1704–1709) after being marooned by his captain, initially at his request, on an uninhabited island i ...

- the possible inspiration for Daniel Defoe's character

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

- during his sojourn on one of the Juan Fernandez Islands.

Hummingbird pollination

The capitula with their large large orange corollas are hummingbird pollinated. The nectar composition of ''Sonchus brassicifolius'' has large quantities of sucrose (73%), 15% fructose and 10.9%

glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, u ...

Gallery

File:Seedling of Dendroseris litoralis - The Cabbage Tree..jpg, Seedling, cultivated plant File:Dendroseris litoralis canopy from beneath Kew.jpg, Canopy, viewed from beneath, of mature specimen flowering in

Temperate House The Temperate House, opened in May 1863, is a Grade I-listed showhouse for the largest plants in Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. Rectangular, with pitched roofs, its pillars support wrought-iron ribs. Decimus Burton and Irish engineer, Richard T ...

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the ...

(flowers not visible in shot) File:Dendroseris litoralis cabbage-like crown Kew.jpg, Crown of large, edible, cabbage-like leaves that earned the species the common name of cabbage tree (Temperate House, Kew Gardens) File:Dendroseris litoralis petiole attachment Kew.jpg, Young stem, showing attachment of bases of long, deeply-grooved petioles (Temperate House, Kew Gardens) File:Dendroseris litoralis channelled petiole Kew.jpg, View from above of base of single petiole, showing deep channel and attachment to stem by crescent-shaped base (Temperate House, Kew Gardens) File:Dendroseris litoralis petiole base fallen leaf Kew.jpg, Crescent-shaped base of petiole of fallen leaf showing structure where formerly attached to young trunk (Temperate House, Kew Gardens) File:Dendroseris litoralis young trunk leaf scars Kew.jpg, Young trunk bearing distinctive pale, annular leaf scars (Temperate House, Kew Gardens): note bud in centre of image File:Dendroseris litoralis palmate leaf venation upper surface Kew.jpg, Upper surface of leaf at junction of petiole and lamina, showing palmate venation File:Dendroseris litoralis Kew texture top leaf tip.jpg, Detail of upper surface of leaf tip, showing glossy, rubbery texture and veins patterned with elongate spots (Temperate House, Kew Gardens) File:Dendroseris litoralis leaf venation detail back-lit Kew.jpg, Part of upper surface of single leaf, back-lit to reveal fine detail of venation (Temperate House, Kew Gardens) File:Dendroseris litoralis spotted leaf vein Kew.jpg, Detail of upper surface of leaf midrib (back-lit), showing distinctive, elongate, green spots File:Juan-Fernandez-comp-Humming-bird 820.jpg, Wild specimen, flowering profusely in its native

Juan Fernandez Islands ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...

File:Dendroseris litoralis capitulum interior Kew.jpg, Interior of pendent, yellow-orange 'flower' (capitulum) (Temperate House, Kew Gardens)

References

External links

The Cabbage Tree - ''Dendroseris litoralis''

brassicifolius Critically endangered plants Endemic flora of the Juan Fernández Islands Robinson Crusoe Island Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cichorieae-stub