Pinguicula acuminata
Encyclopedia
Pinguicula acuminata is an insectivorous plant
of the genus
Pinguicula
endemic
to the Mexican
state of Hidalgo, a member of the section
Heterophyllum. It is notable for producing flowers while the winter rosette is buried beneath the soil surface. Described in 1839, it was not rediscovered until 150 years later.
herb
bearing stiff, ground-hugging ovate
to cordiform
acuminate
22-92 mm. (½-3½ in.) long leaves. These are borne on unusually long petioles (20-58 mm or ½–1 in), which allow the stem base to remain buried slightly underground. The leaves are densely covered with stalked mucilagenous and sessile digestive glands, which serve to trap and digest insect
prey and absorb the resulting nutrient mixture to supplement their nitrate-low environment. During dryer winter conditions when food is scarce, P. acuminata forms winter rosettes of short, non-carnivorous leaves to decrease the loss of energy used on carnivorous mechanisms. In this species the entire winter rosette is withdrawn slightly beneath the soil surface, leaving only the shriveled summer leaves visible.
2-4 white to lilac flowers, borne singly on 74-150 mm. stalks, appear between March and May, before the carnivorous summer leaves emerge.
, as well as an assortment of moss
es, fern
s, and succulents.
in 1839, based solely on the winter rosette. Ernst studied herbarium material in 1961, and Casper used his description when publishing his monograph of the genus in 1966. Live specimens of the plant in its summer growth were not observed until Hans Luhrs rediscovered the species in 1989. The species has since entered cultivation.
Carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic...
of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Pinguicula
Pinguicula
The butterworts are a group of carnivorous plants comprising the genus Pinguicula. Members of this genus use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they obtain from the environments. Of the roughly 80 currently known species, 12...
endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
state of Hidalgo, a member of the section
Section (botany)
In botany, a section is a taxonomic rank below the genus, but above the species. The subgenus, if present, is higher than the section, and the rank of series, if present, is below the section. Sections are typically used to help organise very large genera, which may have hundreds of species...
Heterophyllum. It is notable for producing flowers while the winter rosette is buried beneath the soil surface. Described in 1839, it was not rediscovered until 150 years later.
Morphology
P. acuminata is a perennial rosettedRosette (botany)
In botany, a rosette is a circular arrangement of leaves, with all the leaves at a single height.Though rosettes usually sit near the soil, their structure is an example of a modified stem.-Function:...
herb
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
bearing stiff, ground-hugging ovate
Leaf shape
In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...
to cordiform
Leaf shape
In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...
acuminate
Leaf shape
In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...
22-92 mm. (½-3½ in.) long leaves. These are borne on unusually long petioles (20-58 mm or ½–1 in), which allow the stem base to remain buried slightly underground. The leaves are densely covered with stalked mucilagenous and sessile digestive glands, which serve to trap and digest insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
prey and absorb the resulting nutrient mixture to supplement their nitrate-low environment. During dryer winter conditions when food is scarce, P. acuminata forms winter rosettes of short, non-carnivorous leaves to decrease the loss of energy used on carnivorous mechanisms. In this species the entire winter rosette is withdrawn slightly beneath the soil surface, leaving only the shriveled summer leaves visible.
2-4 white to lilac flowers, borne singly on 74-150 mm. stalks, appear between March and May, before the carnivorous summer leaves emerge.
Distribution and habitat
P. acuminata is known only from 8 locations in and around the El Chico municipality in the state of Hidalgo. Here it grows on well-shaded mossy banks between 2400 and 2800 meters in altitude. It often grows in association with Pinguicula moranensisPinguicula moranensis
Pinguicula moranensis is a perennial rosette-forming insectivorous herb native to Mexico and Guatemala. A species of butterwort, it forms summer rosettes of flat, succulent leaves up to 10 centimeters long, which are covered in mucilagenous glands that attract, trap, and digest arthropod...
, as well as an assortment of moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
es, fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s, and succulents.
Botanical History
P. acuminata was first discovered and described by George BenthamGeorge Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
in 1839, based solely on the winter rosette. Ernst studied herbarium material in 1961, and Casper used his description when publishing his monograph of the genus in 1966. Live specimens of the plant in its summer growth were not observed until Hans Luhrs rediscovered the species in 1989. The species has since entered cultivation.