Weird, Pink, Endangered, Flower Found On The Side Of A Colombian Road
Andrew Wight
Contributor
I'm a journalist covering #GlobalSouthScience, tech and development.
Aug 27, 2023,09:44pm EDT
Flower of Glossolomamagenticristatum J.L.Clark, D.Hoyos & Clavijo DAVID SANÍN
A plant species new to science, already characterized as endangered, faces a very specific threat: periodic roadside maintenance.
Glossoloma ranges from southern Mexico to Bolivia, 16 species found in the western lowland Andean forests of Colombia and Ecuador, but a new species, Glossolomamagenticristatum, was found in three locations along the Florencia–Guadalupe road in southern Colombia.
In a paper called "Glossolomamagenticristatum (Gesneriaceae), a new species from the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes", published in the journal Phytokeys found that the new species is at risk from periodic disturbance due to the removal of roadside vegetation by maintenance staff on the Florencia–Guadalupe road and globally by the ongoing decline of Andean forests from colonization and agriculture.
Laura Clavijo, an assistant professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and one of the authors of the study says that this discovery was part of her research where she uses intensive fieldwork, the study of botanical collections at herbaria, and molecular techniques to answer questions regarding the ecology and evolution of Gesneriaceae (the African Violet family) and to ensure their survival.
More:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewwight/2023/08/27/weird-pink-endangered-flower-found-on-the-side-of-a-colombian-road/
= new reply since forum marked as read
