''Utricularia macrocheilos'' is a small annual

carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryot ...

that belongs to the

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 ...

'' Utricularia''. 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 ...

to western tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, where it is only known from the mountain ranges of

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

and

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

. ''U. macrocheilos'' grows as a terrestrial plant among wet rocks at medium altitudes. It flowers between August and January. A specimen of ''U. macrocheilos'' was originally included in the description of '' Utricularia prehensilis, U. prehensilis'' by

François Pellegrin François Pellegrin (25 September 1881, in Paris's 6e arrondissement – 9 April 1965, in the Hôpital Bichat in the 18e arrondissement) was a French botanist, who specialised in the plants of tropical Africa. He published some 623 plant names ...

in 1914 and also in John Hutchinson and

Nicol Alexander Dalzell Nicol (or Nicholas) Alexander Dalzell FRSE FLS (21 April 1817 – 18 December 1877) was a Scottish botanist. He was one of the first persons to form the link between forest denudation and the impact of rainfall upon the wider countryside. ...

's 1931 description of '' U. micropetala''. Peter Taylor recognized these specimens as a different taxon in a 1963 review of African species and treated it as a variety of ''U. micropetala''. After further discussions with other botanists and review of the specimens, he elevated the variety to the species level in 1986 as ''U. macrocheilos''. Compared to ''U. micropetala'', ''U. macrocheilos'' has much longer

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

lips and less acute fruiting

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

lobe apices. Taylor notes, however, that the vegetative body of the plants and the seeds appear to be identical.Taylor, Peter. (1989). '' The genus Utricularia - a taxonomic monograph''. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XIV: London.Taylor, Peter. (1963). New taxa and combinations in West African Lentibulariaceae and Gentianaceae. ''Taxon'', 12: 293-294.

References

Carnivorous plants of Africa Flora of Guinea Flora of Sierra Leone macrocheilos {{Lentibulariaceae-stub

See also

References