Aquilegia dichroa

Aquilegia dichroa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Aquilegia
Species:
A. dichroa
Binomial name
Aquilegia dichroa
Synonyms[1]

Aquilegia dichroa is a perennial flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to Portugal and northwestern Spain.[1]

Description

Aquilegia dichroa is a perennial herb growing to 18–75 cm (7–30 in) tall with an erect stem which is pubescent towards the top and sticky towards the base. The leaves are green and smooth on the uppersides, and slightly downy underneath. The basal leaves have stalks 4–18 cm (1.6–7.1 in) long, the leaves themselves measuring 6–7 cm (2.4–2.8 in) long by 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in) wide. Each has three wedge- or egg-shaped leaflets, of which the central leaflet always and the side leaflets sometimes have a stalk. The flowers are blue, nodding and have pointed oval sepals 1.5 cm (0.6 in) long, and blue petals 2 cm (0.8 in) long with white tips. The petals have thick, blue, curved nectar spurs which are hooked at the end and 1.2 cm (0.5 in) long. The stamens are longer than the petals, and the anthers are yellow, blackening towards the tip.[2]

Taxonomy

Aquilegia dichroa was formally described by the Austrian botanist Josef Franz Freyn in 1880. Freyn differentiated the species from the similar Aquilegia vulgaris by its small sepals, protruding stamens, hooked styles, and evenly if not densely hairy leaves.[2] It was reassessed as a subspecies dichroa of A. vulgaris by the Spanish botanist Tomás Emilio Díaz in 1984.[1]

A closely-related species A. molleriana was described by Freyn and Vinczé von Borbás in 1886[3] but is now considered a synonym of A. dichroa.[1]

Etymology

The specific epithet dichroa means "of two colours", referring to the blue-and-white flowers.[4]

Distribution and habitat

Aquilegia dichroa is native to Portugal and northwestern Spain, and has been introduced to the islands of Terceira, Graciosa, and Pico in the Azores.[5] It grows in mountainous areas in granitic soils.[3]

Conservation

As of December 2024, the species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List.[6]

Ecology

Aquilegia dichroa flowers from April to June.[3] In mainland Portugal it is found in the oak-wood plant community Rusco aculeati-Quercetum roboris (butcher's-broom and pedunculate oak) along with plants such as Scilla verna (spring squill), Veronica chamaedrys (germander speedwell), Hieracium sabaudum (European hawkweed), and Melampyrum pratense (common cow-wheat).[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Aquilegia dichroa Freyn". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b Freyn, Josef Franz (1880). "Fünf bisher unbeschriebene Arten der Mediterran-Flora" [Five previously undescribed species of the Mediterranean flora]. Flora (in German). 63: 26–28. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Borbás, Vinczé von; Freyn, Josef Franz (1886). "Subsidios para o estudo da Flora Portugueza" [Contributions to the study of the Portuguese Flora]. Boletim da Sociedade Broteriana (in Portuguese). 4: 108. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  4. ^ Gledhill, David (2006). The names of plants (4th. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521866456. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Aquilegia vulgaris subsp. dichroa (Freyn) T. E. Díaz". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  6. ^ "Aquilegia - genus". IUCN Red List. 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  7. ^ Raposo, Mauro; del Río, Sara; Vázquez-Pardo, Francisco; Costa, José Carlos; Cano-Ortiz, Ana; Pinto-Gomes, Carlos (17 November 2023). "New plant communities to define the southern boundary of the European Atlantic Province in mainland Portugal". Plant Sociology. 60 (2): 49. doi:10.3897/pls2023602/03. hdl:10612/22209. Retrieved 23 December 2024.