''Wercklea hottensis'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

endemic to the mountains of the

Massif de la Hotte The Massif de la Hotte is a mountain range in southwestern Haiti, on the Tiburon Peninsula. About 2.5 million years ago, Massif de la Hotte was separated from the Massif de la Selle by a deep, wide sea channel, and formed a separate island. This r ...

in South-Western

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

Description

The species forms shrubs to 2.5 m tall. Stems, leaves, buds and fruit are viciously armed with prickles. Flowers are large and either red or yellow-green.

Range

''Wercklea hottensis'' was first found in 1929, in the Central

, on morne Bonnet Carre near Saint Louis du Sud. In 1989 and 2013 it was also discovered in the Occidental

near and in

Pic Macaya National Park Pic Macaya National Park (french: Parc National Pic Macaya) is one of two national parks of the Republic of Haiti. It is located in the country's southern peninsula, within the Massif de la Hotte. Featuring the country's last stand of virgin cl ...

. The persistence of the population on morne Bonnet Carre was confirmed in 2018. In 2019 a new, formerly unknown population was discovered in Grand Bois National Park, in the Western most mountains of the Occidental

Habitat

The species seems to prefer moist and open habitats between 1000 and 1300m above sea level. It is growing on moist ridges in elfin forest. It has also been found in moist furrows on sunny and exposed mountain sides, either alone or together with shrubs and forest fragments.

Ecology

On Morne Bonnet Carre the species is not rare and seems to persist or even spread in areas that are grazed by cattle. The red and the green flowered morph have been documented there in 2018. In the same year small birds were observed visiting the flowers on that mountain. In Peak Macaya National Park the species is common, the red flowered morph has been documented from there. In Grand Bois National Park, the species is very rare and only a single small population, that consists of individuals with exclusively green flowers, is known from this site.

Etymology

The species has been given the specific epithet "hottensis", as it occurs in the

in Haiti.

Taxonomy

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15385903 hottensis Endemic flora of Haiti