Monanthes anagensis
Encyclopedia
Monanthes anagensis is the largest species
in the genus
Monanthes
, forming little bushes
about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) high. Leaves are laxly spaced, linear-elliptic, quite smooth, and 1.5–2 cm (0.590551181102362–0.78740157480315 ) long. When stunted it somewhat resembles Monanthes laxiflora but differs from any form of that variable species in its distinctly shrub
by habit, alternate (not opposite) longer and narrower leaves which are green, red, or purplish, never grey, and ovoid buds, the buds of M. laxiflora being broader than long.
, local endemic for the island of Tenerife
and abundant along the watershed of the Anaga Mountains
, at an altitude of 600–1000 m (1,968.5–3,280.8 ).
, much-branched sub-shrub, up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) high and wide. Roots fibrous. Branches grey, tortuous, bare save near the apices (more leafy in cultivation) Leaves alternate, not rosulate, sessile, glabrous, linear-elliptic (or in cultivation linear), rather blunt, subtereta, flattish and channelled on face, about 1.5 cm (in cultivation up to 2.5 cm) long, 4 mm broad, 3 mm thick, green, in exposure red or purple. Inflorescence pseudo-terminal, 2 to 6 flowered, racemose, pedicels glabrous, filiform, up to 2.5 cm long. Buds broadly ovoid. Flowers 7-parted, 1 cm across, greenish-yellow. Calyx glabrous, cut half-way down into deltoid subacute segments. Petal
s deltoid-lanceolate, acute, 4 mm long, greenish-yellow with reddish nerve. Stamens nearly equaling the petals, filaments reddish, anther]s yellow. Scales 1 mm long, 1,5mm broad, narrow below, expanded above into two subcircular scrabid pale green lobes. Carpels 2,5 mm long, the short styles at first erect, later divergent. Flowering May-June.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in 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...
Monanthes
Monanthes
Monanthes is a genus of small, succulent, subtropical plants of the Crassulaceae family. The about ten species are mostly endemic to the Canary Islands and Salvage Islands, with some found on Madeira. Its center of diversity is Tenerife, with seven species occurring on this island. On...
, forming little bushes
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) high. Leaves are laxly spaced, linear-elliptic, quite smooth, and 1.5–2 cm (0.590551181102362–0.78740157480315 ) long. When stunted it somewhat resembles Monanthes laxiflora but differs from any form of that variable species in its distinctly shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
by habit, alternate (not opposite) longer and narrower leaves which are green, red, or purplish, never grey, and ovoid buds, the buds of M. laxiflora being broader than long.
Habitat
Canary IslandsCanary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, local endemic for the island of Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
and abundant along the watershed of the Anaga Mountains
Macizo de Anaga
Macizo de Anaga is a mountain range in the northeastern part of the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The highest point is 1,024 m . It extends to the Punta de Anaga in the northeast up to Cruz del Carmen in the southwest. Anaga features the mountain points of Bichuelo, Anambro,...
, at an altitude of 600–1000 m (1,968.5–3,280.8 ).
Description
A small erect, glabrousGlabrousness
Glabrousness is the technical term for an anatomically atypical lack of hair, down, or similar structures...
, much-branched sub-shrub, up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) high and wide. Roots fibrous. Branches grey, tortuous, bare save near the apices (more leafy in cultivation) Leaves alternate, not rosulate, sessile, glabrous, linear-elliptic (or in cultivation linear), rather blunt, subtereta, flattish and channelled on face, about 1.5 cm (in cultivation up to 2.5 cm) long, 4 mm broad, 3 mm thick, green, in exposure red or purple. Inflorescence pseudo-terminal, 2 to 6 flowered, racemose, pedicels glabrous, filiform, up to 2.5 cm long. Buds broadly ovoid. Flowers 7-parted, 1 cm across, greenish-yellow. Calyx glabrous, cut half-way down into deltoid subacute segments. Petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s deltoid-lanceolate, acute, 4 mm long, greenish-yellow with reddish nerve. Stamens nearly equaling the petals, filaments reddish, anther]s yellow. Scales 1 mm long, 1,5mm broad, narrow below, expanded above into two subcircular scrabid pale green lobes. Carpels 2,5 mm long, the short styles at first erect, later divergent. Flowering May-June.