Common name: Latin name and synonyms:
Senaea Taub.
(1893: 515-517)
Etymology: Unknown
Species:
Only one species is known from this genus,
Senaea
coerulea.
Distribution:
Senaea
is a rare genus with a very narrow
distribution, occurring in high-elevation areas in southeastern Brazil,
between Rio de Janeiro and Mato Grosso.
Habitat:
Characteristics:
Shrubs.
Branches erect, round or square. Leaves opposite, rather leathery, with
petiole, elliptic to ovate. Inflorescences with leaf-like bracts, flowres
in terminal or axillary cymes. Flowers 6-merous. Calyx campanulate.
Corolla blue, funnel- to bellshaped; lobes acute, about same length as
corolla tube. Stamens inserted in corolla tube; anthers sagittate,
apiculate. Style long, slender; stigma bilobed. Capsules elliptic.
Evolution
and related plants:
The 6-merous flowers of Senaea are an unusual trait in
Gentianaceae, and are found also in two other Helieae genera,
Chorisepalum and Prepusa. Chorisepalum differs in
its 4-merous calyx (not 6-merous) and pollen spread as reticulate single
pollen grains, but Prepusa show similarities to Senaea in
its generally 6-merous flowers and strikingly similar pollen tetrads
(Nilsson, 2002). Both Prepusa or Senaea are
temporarily placed in Helieae awaiting further phylogenetic investigations
(Struwe et al., 2002).
Economic
uses: None known.
Notes: This is an extremely rare plant that has only been found a
few times. It is most likely highly endangered, and might even be
extinct. Fernanda Calio from University of Sao Paulo is currently
investigating Senaea and Prepusa.
Accepted species (synonyms in parenthesis) and their distribution:
Senaea
coerulea Taub. |
Brazil |
References
and publications:
Nilsson,
S. 2002. Gentianaceae – a review of palynology. Pp. 377-497. In: L.
Struwe & V. A. Albert, editors. Gentianaceae – systematics and
natural history. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Struwe,
L., J. W. Kadereit, J. Klackenberg, S. Nilsson, M. Thiv, K. B. von Hagen,
& V. A. Albert. 2002. Systematics, character evolution, and
biogeography of Gentianaceae, including a new tribal and subtribal
classification. Pp. 21-309. In: L. Struwe & V. A. Albert (eds.),
Gentianaceae: Systematics and Natural History, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge.
© Lena Struwe, 2004
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