Pinguicula gypsicola
Encyclopedia
Pinguicula gypsicola is an insectivorous plant
of the genus
Pinguicula
native to the Mexican
state of San Luis Potosi
, a heterophyllous member of the section
Orcheosanthus. It grows in gypsum
soils and forms stemless rosettes of upright, narrow leaves.
herb
. It is heterophyllous, bearing upright, narrow carnivorous leaves with backward bending margins in the summer, and a tight rosette of small, hairy, non-carnivorous leaves in the winter. As is typical for Pinguicula
, the carnivorous 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. The carnivorous leaves of this species are bright green to reddish and grow up to 6.5 cm. long.
The 2 cm flower
s are purple and are born singly on 9 cm inflorescence
s. They bloom when the start of summer rains triggers summer growth in June or July.
. It grows in gypsum
slopes accompanied by other xerophytic
vegetation such as Cactaceae, Agave
stricta, A. striata, Selaginella cuspidata, Dasylirion longissimum
, Dodonea viscosa and Hechtia glomerata
.
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...
native 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 San Luis Potosi
San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí officially Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí....
, a heterophyllous 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...
Orcheosanthus. It grows in gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
soils and forms stemless rosettes of upright, narrow leaves.
Morphology
P. gypsicola 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...
. It is heterophyllous, bearing upright, narrow carnivorous leaves with backward bending margins in the summer, and a tight rosette of small, hairy, non-carnivorous leaves in the winter. As is typical for 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...
, the carnivorous 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. The carnivorous leaves of this species are bright green to reddish and grow up to 6.5 cm. long.
The 2 cm flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are purple and are born singly on 9 cm inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s. They bloom when the start of summer rains triggers summer growth in June or July.
Distribution and habitat
P. gypsicola is known only from a few areas near its type location west of the city of San Luis PotosíSan Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí, commonly called SLP or simply San Luis, is the capital of, and most populous city in the Mexican state of the same name. The city lies at an elevation of 1,850 meters...
. It grows in gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
slopes accompanied by other xerophytic
Xerophyte
A xerophyte or xerophytic organism is a plant which has adapted to survive in an environment that lacks water, such as a desert. Xerophytic plants may have adapted shapes and forms or internal functions that reduce their water loss or store water during long periods of dryness...
vegetation such as Cactaceae, Agave
Agave
Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....
stricta, A. striata, Selaginella cuspidata, Dasylirion longissimum
Dasylirion longissimum
Dasylirion longissimum, the Mexican Grass Tree, is a species of flowering plant native to the Chihuahuan Desert and other xeric habitats in Northeastern Mexico.-Description:...
, Dodonea viscosa and Hechtia glomerata
Hechtia glomerata
Hechtia glomerata, commonly known as Guapilla, is a species of bromeliad that is native to southern Texas in the United States, Mexico, and Guatemala.-Cultivars:* Hechtia 'Ventura' -References:...
.