''Hyacinthoides cedretorum'' is a species of bluebell that grows in North Africa.

Description

''Hyacinthoides cedretorum'' differs from other species of ''Hyacinthoides'' in the strongly revolute (curved backwards) form of the tepals, with the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s being attached to the tepals only at their bases; in other species, the stamens are fused to the tepals along much of their length, and the tepals form a bell-like shape. The

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s and

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

are typically violet-blue, but populations from the High Atlas mountains have creamy-yellow pollen.

Distribution and ecology

''Hyacinthoides cedretorum'' is found in mountainous areas of Morocco and Algeria, from the Rif Mountains to the mountains of Jijel Province, including the High Atlas and

Anti-Atlas The Anti-Atlas ( ar, الأطلس الصغير, shi, Aṭlas Mẓẓiyn), also known as Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas Mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlanti ...

mountains. It grows at altitudes of , generally under '' Cedrus'' (cedar) or '' Abies'' (fir) trees. In the High Atlas, it grows on exposed cliff ledges.

Taxonomy and karyology

The first description of ''H. cedretorum'' as a separate taxon was made by

Auguste Pomel Nicolas Auguste Pomel (20 September 1821 – 2 August 1898) was a French geologist, paleontologist and botanist. He worked as a mines engineer in Algeria and became a specialist in north African vertebrate fossils. He was Senator of Algeria for Or ...

in 1874, when he described "''Endymion cedretorum''" in his work ', based on plants growing on Djebel Endate in Algeria. The same species was later described by Jules Aimé Battandier as "''Endymion patulus'' subsp. ''algeriensis''", and by Alfred Charles Chabert as "''Endymion kabylicus''". Both Pomel's name and Battandier's name have been treated as

infraspecific taxa In botany, an infraspecific name is the scientific name for any taxon below the rank of species, i.e. an infraspecific taxon or infraspecies. (A "taxon", plural "taxa", is a group of organisms to be given a particular name.) The scientific na ...

(

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

or variety) within the species '' Hyacinthoides hispanica'', but it is now regarded as a separate species, and was placed in the genus ''Hyacinthoides'' in 2009. ''Hyacinthoides cedretorum'' is the only tetraploid species in the genus; it is unclear whether it originated by autopolyploidy or allopolyploidy.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5952340 cedretorum Flora of Morocco Flora of Algeria Plants described in 1874