Skip to main content

Peteroa daisy (Leucheria peteroana) endemic to the Andes of Central Chile at elevation of 2500 meters

Peteroa daisy (Leucheria peteroana) is endemic to the Andes of Central Chile at elevation of 2500 meters

NEWS - Peteroa daisy (Leucheria peteroana Lavandero sp. nov.) is endemic to a restricted area of the Andes of Central Chile, described based on nDNA and cpDNA with a series of unique characters that clearly distinguish it from other species.

Leucheria Lag. is one of the largest genera in the Nassauvieae and is distributed in Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, including the Falkland Islands. It is mostly found in the Patagonian-Andean and Subantarctic Phytogeographic domains.

The unusual Leucheria specimen was collected around Lagunas del Teno in the Andes in the Maule Region, Chile. This area is characterized by steep topography, with elevations up to 4112 m. This mountainous area of the Andes is characterized by active volcanic activity.

L. peteroana is a perennial herb 40–70 cm tall, forming clumps of seasonally persistent annual stems. Rhizome dark brown, round, 25–50 mm wide, bifurcating, oblique to vertical. Roots brown, ca. 1mm wide.

Stems green, erect, fistulose, 2.5–5.0 mm wide, simple, never branching, round, internodes up to 10 cm long, densely covered by two types of trichomes with clear and sticky resin, not fragrant, and without any pungent or noticeable scent when touched or pressed (same indumentum up to the corolla tube): short glandular, capitate, (60–)90–150 µm long, multicellular 8–15-celled trichomes; long glandular, (300–)500–1500(–2300) µm long, multicellular 10–30(–50)-celled trichomes.

Leaves green, alternate; basal leaves attenuate, more densely arranged at the base, but not forming a conspicuous rosette; upper leaves sessile, amplexicaul, loosely arranged, gradually reduced in size towards the capitulescence.

Lamina oblanceolate, pinnatipartite to pinnatisect, with 6–9 segments per side, almost tripartite towards the apex, (70–)130–180(–190) × (20–)50–60(–65) mm; base attenuate, amplexicaul, apex mucronate; margin serrate, texture coriaceous, densely glandular on both surfaces.

Segments at the base 1(–2)-dentate, apex mucronate; segments in the middle 4–7-dentate; apical segments fused, 3–7-dentate; prominent veins on abaxial side, with primary vein ending in apical mucro, secondary veins ending in apical mucro of each segment, and tertiary veins ending in lateral teeth of each segment.

Capitulescence of a single corymbiform cyme per stem. Capitula 5–9 per stem, pedunculate, homogamous, discoid; pedicels (2–)8–10(–14) cm long. Hemispheric involucres 10.1–11.0 × 14.2–15.2 mm, two-seriate, alternate. Receptacle convex, epaleate (no flowers between bracts), glabrous.

Outer involucral bracts (10–)12(–14), green, lanceolate, concave on the inner face, 8.1–9.2 × 1.8–1.9 mm, with 3 dark-green longitudinal veins (including the midrib), margin ciliate, apex ciliate , texture coriaceous to hyaline-membranaceous towards the margins, abaxial side densely covered by short and long glandular trichomes, adaxial side glabrous.

Inner involucral bracts half the number of outer involucral bracts, (5–)6(–7), green, lanceolate, concave to flat 9.0–9.2 × 1.9–2.2 mm, with one dark-green longitudinal stripe (midrib), apex acute , texture leaf-like to hyaline-membranaceous towards both lateral margins, ciliate margin, central portion of the abaxial side sparsely covered by short glandular trichomes, hyaline lamina glabrous, adaxial side glabrous.

Flowers isomorphic, bisexual, (40–)43(–45) per capitulum. Corollas bilabiate, white, sometimes pinkish white on the abaxial side, tube 4.3–4.6 mm long, 1.0–1.1 wide; corolla tube sparsely covered by glandular trichomes.

Outer lip oblanceolate, 6.8–7.1 × 3.2–3.5 mm at its widest, apex 3-toothed, teeth equal, 4-veined, glabrous. Inner lip bifid, lacinae linear, 3.4–3.6 × 0.20–0.29 mm at its widest, connivent, glabrous. Stamens 5, 6.2–6.7 mm long, glabrous.

Anthers sagittate, 3.0–3.3 mm long; apical appendages pink-purplish, lanceolate, 1.6–1.9 mm long, apex acute; tails long, lanceolate, 1.1–1.2 mm long, apex rounded, smooth. Style pink, 6.5–7.0 mm long, cleft into two truncate branches of pink color, branches 1.1–1.3 mm long, with stigmatic papillae on internal surface and apical crown papillose.

Cypselae dark-brown, 3.5–3.6 × 1.1–1.2 mm, obovoid, strigose; covered by two types of trichomes: glandular biseriate trichomes, 100–130 µm long, and twin trichomes, 230–280 µm long. Pappus uniseriate, fused at their bases into a ring, deciduous; bristles 23–30, white, sub-plumose, 7.4–7.7 mm long; pectines long, filiform, 250–400(–520) µm long, laterally inserted.

L. peteroana is most similar to L. runcinata but differs in simple aboveground stems (vs. branched), only glandular indumentum (vs. lanose and glandular), no scent (vs. pungent or putrid), completely white corolla (vs. purple to blue), apical appendages of anthers purplish pink (vs. blue), pistil branches pink (vs. white), pectin pappus 250–520 µm (vs. 130–160 µm).

L. peteroana also differs from L. apiifolia in being taller (vs. no more than 30 cm tall), two types of glandular trichomes in the vegetative part (vs. one type), no aroma (vs. mild lemon-like odor), completely white flower crowns ( vs. pale gold), the outer lip is fully open at full anthesis (vs. recurved), and the apical appendages of the anthers are purplish pink (vs. cream to dark brown).

The new species is endemic to the Andes of Central Chile and is known only from the type locality around Laguna El Planchón, Maule Region. It grows in full sun on the edge of Andean wetlands or in the shade of boulders and rock walls near high elevations. 2500 m with southeast orientation.

L. peteroana is associated with other high Andean plants such as Grausa lateritia (Gillies ex Arn.) Weigend & R.H. Acuña, Calceolaria williamsii Phil., Acaena ovalifolia Ruiz & Pav., Calceolaria filicaulis Clos, and Erythranthe lutea (L .) G.L. Nesom.

Flowers between December and March and bears fruit in March. The specific epithet refers to the active volcanic complex Planchón-Peteroa. The Andean lake where this species occurs is located at the foot of this volcano. The new species can be considered as Critically Endangered (CR) because the Area of Occupancy is less than 10 km2.

Original research

Lavandero N, Pérez F, Pinilla N (2024). Leucheria peteroana (Nassauvieae, Asteraceae), a new species of Leucheria endemic to the Andes of Central Chile, and insights into the systematics of Nassauviae. PhytoKeys 248: 315-337, DOI:10.3897/phytokeys.248.133202

Dlium theDlium

Popular Posts

Six new species forming the Sumbana species group in genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg 1798 from Indonesia

NEWS - Sumbawa longhorn ( Nemophora sumbana Kozlov, sp. nov.), Timor longhorn ( Nemophora timorella Kozlov, sp. nov.), shining shade longhorn ( Nemophora umbronitidella Kozlov, sp. nov.), Wegner longhorn ( Nemophora wegneri Kozlov, sp. nov.), long brush longhorn ( Nemophora longipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.), and short brush longhorn ( Nemophora brevipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.) from the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. The Lesser Sunda Islands consist of two parallel, linear oceanic island chains, including Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Sawu, Timor, Alor, and Tanimbar. The oldest of these islands have been continuously occurring for 10–12 million years. This long period of isolation has allowed significant in situ diversification, making the Lesser Sundas home to many endemic species. This island chain may act as a two-way filter for organisms migrating between the world's two great biogeographic regions, Asia and Australia-Papua. The recognition of a striking cli...

Banded dragonfish (Akarotaxis gouldae) diverged from Akarotaxis nudiceps 780,000 years ago

NEWS - A new species of dragonfish, Akarotaxis gouldae or banded dragonfish, off the western Antarctic Peninsula by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at Gloucester Point, the University of Oregon at Eugene, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, highlights the unknown biodiversity and fragile ecosystems of the Antarctic. A. gouldae was named in honor of the Antarctic Research and Supply Vessel (ARSV) Laurence M. Gould and crew. The larval specimen was collected while trawling for zooplankton and was initially thought to be the closely related Akarotaxis nudiceps hundreds of thousands of years ago. DNA comparisons with A. nudiceps specimens held in collections at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Yale University, and the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris showed significant variation in mitochondrial genes that suggested the larval sample was a distinct species. Andrew Corso of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and colle...

Bush sorrel (Hibiscus surattensis)

Bush sorrel ( Hibiscus surattensis ) is a plant species in Malvaceae, annual shrub, crawling on the surface or climbing, up to 3 meters long, thorny stems, green leaves, yellow trumpet flowers, grows wild in forests and canal edges, widely used for vegetables and treatment. H. surattensis has stems with spines and hairs, branching and reddish green. Petiole emerges from the stem with a straight edge to the side, up to 11 cm long, sturdy, thorny, hairy and reddish green. The leaves have a length of 10 cm, width of 10 cm, 3-5 lobed, each has a bone in the middle with several pinnate veins, sharp tip, sharp and jagged edges, wavy, stiff, green surface. Flowers up to 10 cm long, trumpet-shaped, yellow with a purple or brown or red center, solitary, axillary. Epicalyx has forked bracts, linear inner branches, spathulate outer branches. Stalks up to 6-7 cm. The seeds have a length of 3-3.5 mm and a width of 2.5 mm. Bush sorrels grow in pastures, marshes, abandoned fields and plantations, ...