''Lobelia deckenii'' is a species 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 ...

in the family

Campanulaceae The family Campanulaceae (also bellflower family), of the order Asterales, contains nearly 2400 species in 84 genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often with milky sap. Among them are several familiar garden plants belo ...

. It is a giant lobelia

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 mountains of

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. It is listed as a threatened plant of the forests of Cherangani hills, Kenya. It grows in moist areas, such as valley bottoms and moorland, in contrast to ''

Lobelia telekii ''Lobelia telekii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae, that is found only in the alpine zones of Mount Kenya, Mount Elgon, and the Aberdare Mountains of East Africa. It occurs at higher altitudes on well-drained slop ...

'' which grows in a similar but drier habitat. These two species produce occasional hybrids. ''Lobelia deckenii'' plants usually produce multiple rosettes. Each rosette grows for several decades, produces a single large inflorescence and hundreds of thousands of seeds, then dies. Because individual plants have multiple rosettes, they survive to reproduce repeatedly, and plants with more rosettes flower more frequently. It is

iteroparous Semelparity and iteroparity are two contrasting reproductive strategies available to living organisms. A species is considered semelparous if it is characterized by a single reproductive episode before death, and iteroparous if it is characteri ...

. ''Lobelia deckenii'' plants usually form between one and eighteen rosettes which are connected underground. The individual rosettes grow slowly in the alpine environment, and may take decades to reach reproductive size. The rosette that produces an inflorescence dies after flowering, but the remaining connected rosettes live on. ''Lobelia deckenii'' is the only alpine species of lobelia that is native to

Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and a ...

,Young, T.P. 1991. La flora, fauna y ecología del Monte Kenia y el Kilimanjaro. Pp. 37-49 En: Guía para el Monte Kenia y el Kilimanjaro (Iain Allan, ed.) Mountain Club of Kenya occurring between .Kilimanjaro. Oh rei da áfrica. Revista Planeta, dezembro de 2005. ''Lobelia deckenii'' subsp. ''keniensis'' is the variety of ''Lobelia deckenii'' that occurs on Mount Kenya, between . It is eaten less by

rock hyrax The rock hyrax (; ''Procavia capensis''), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the da ...

than ''

'', which occurs more often in hyrax habitat. The lobelia species on Mount Kenya are both pollinated by

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s, especially the

scarlet-tufted sunbird The scarlet-tufted sunbird (''Nectarinia johnstoni'') is a species of bird in the Nectarinia'' of the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. It is also known a ...

and the alpine chat. This species of giant lobelia is known for the reservoirs of water held in its rosettes, which freeze at night and protect the apical

meristem The meristem is a type of tissue found in plants. It consists of undifferentiated cells (meristematic cells) capable of cell division. Cells in the meristem can develop into all the other tissues and organs that occur in plants. These cells conti ...

which is contained in a dense central leaf bud. When this reservoir is drained, the temperature of the inner meristem drops below freezing, which does not occur when the fluid is left intact. The crescent-shaped ice cubes formed in these rosettes gave rise to the nickname, "

gin and tonic A gin and tonic is a highball cocktail made with gin and tonic water poured over a large amount of ice. The ratio of gin to tonic varies according to taste, strength of the gin, other drink mixers being added, etc., with most recipes calling f ...

lobelia".

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External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2250670 deckenii Flora of Tanzania Afromontane flora Taxa named by Paul Friedrich August Ascherson Taxa named by William Hemsley (botanist)