''Gesneria pauciflora'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the family

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), with ...

known by the common name ''yerba maricao de cueva''. 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 elsew ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, where there are only three populations remaining.USFWS
Recovery Plan for ''Gesneria pauciflora''.
October 6, 1998. It was federally listed as a threatened species of the United States in 1995.USFWS
Species Profile: ''Gesneria pauciflora''.
/ref> This is a small

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

with dark green, glossy leaves and tubular orange or yellowish flowers around 2 centimeters long. It grows in wet forested habitat within the Maricao Commonwealth Forest of Puerto Rico. It grows along the

Maricao River The Maricao River ( es, Río Maricao) is a river of Maricao and Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. See also *List of rivers of Puerto Rico A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizati ...

, Seco River, and a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Lajas River The Lajas River ( es, Río Lajas) is a river in Maricao, Puerto Rico. See also *List of rivers of Puerto Rico A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List Coll ...

in rocky

serpentine soil Serpentine soil is an uncommon soil type produced by weathered ultramafic rock such as peridotite and its metamorphic derivatives such as serpentinite. More precisely, serpentine soil contains minerals of the serpentine subgroup, especially anti ...

s. The plants may grow within the stream bed between the black or greenish serpentine rocks and in the

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

. At times, the plant is submerged in high water. The plant is gregarious, growing in colonial mats. The plants flower throughout the year, with most flowering occurring during the rainy season in August, September, and October. Threats to the species include forest management practices such as trail construction, and

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s, and other forces that affect the habitat. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''pauciflora'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for 'few-flowered'.D. Gledhill

References

External links

pauciflora Endemic flora of Puerto Rico {{Gesneriaceae-stub