''Jovellana'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 family

Calceolariaceae Calceolariaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that has been recently segregated from Scrophulariaceae. The family includes three genera, ''Calceolaria'', '' Porodittia'', and '' Jovellana'', but analysis suggests that th ...

. It was formerly included in

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

, and is still listed by some authorities as belonging there. However, recent molecular research indicates that the family Scrophulariaceae was

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of converg ...

, meaning that it contained more than one lineage with different parents. So several of its genera - including ''Jovellana'' - have been split off and assigned to new or existing families.

History

During the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

epoch, the climate of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

was said to be

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

. It started to cool down during the

Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...

and

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. This may have allowed the

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

n elements of the ''Jovellana'' genus to establish their characteristics by

long distance dispersal Biological dispersal refers to both the movement of individuals (animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, etc.) from their birth site to their breeding site ('natal dispersal'), as well as the movement from one breeding site to another ('breeding dis ...

. The South American and New Zealand clades are believed to have split 4.1 Ma and both New Zealand and South American species are believed to have diverged from one another about 1.0 Ma.

Description

''Jovellana'' currently contains six to eight species of mainly

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

s native to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

. They have simple leaves and, in summer, nodding sprays of single, two-lipped, bell-shaped flowers in shades of white, lilac and purple, heavily spotted with a contrasting colour inside. The following species are currently included: *'' Jovellana guentheri'' (Chile) *'' Jovellana punctata'' (Chile) *'' Jovellana repens'' (New Zealand) *'' Jovellana sinclairii'' (New Zealand) *'' Jovellana violacea'' (Chile)

Distribution

Authorities have commented on the disjunct nature of the two populations in Chile and New Zealand. However, this is not unique. ''

Fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, '' Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republi ...

'' is another genus with species apparently randomly segregated between Central and South America, New Zealand and Tahiti.

Cultivation

At least three species are cultivated as ornamental garden plants. They are frost-hardy down to , but in cultivation they require a sheltered position in full sun. ''Jovellana violacea'', growing to tall by broad, is a semi-evergreen

subshrub A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or dwarf shrub is a short shrub, and is a woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a related term. "Subshrub" is often used interchangeably with "bush".Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Der ...

with lilac coloured flowers, internally spotted with purple on a yellow background. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

’s

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Gallery

File:Jovellana punctata 001.jpg, ''Jovellana punctata'' File:Jovellana sinclairii kz4.jpg, ''J. sinclairii'' - leaf File:Jovellana violacea (17966578828).jpg, ''Jovellana violacea'' File:Jovellana violacea (8425622546).jpg, ''Jovellana violacea'' File:Jovellana repens on a bank.png, Jovellana repens's growth form

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q133429 Flora of Chile Flora of New Zealand Lamiales Lamiales genera