Montrichardia
Encyclopedia
Montrichardia is a genus
of flowering plants in the Araceae
family
. It contains two species, Montrichardia arborescens and Montrichardia linifera, and one extinct species Montrichardia aquatica
. The genus is helophytic and distributed in tropical America (West Indies, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Lesser Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Surinam, Trinidad, Tobago, and Venezuela). The extinct species M. aquatica is known from fossils found in a Neotropical rainforest
environment preserved in the Paleocene
Cerrejón Formation
of Colombia
. Living Montrichardia species have a chromosome
number of 2n=48.
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...
of flowering plants in the Araceae
Araceae
Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe or leaf-like bract. Also known as the Arum family, members are often colloquially...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. It contains two species, Montrichardia arborescens and Montrichardia linifera, and one extinct species Montrichardia aquatica
Montrichardia aquatica
Montrichardia aquatica is an extinct species of monocot plant in the Araceae family . M. aquatica is related to the living species M. arborescens and M. linifera...
. The genus is helophytic and distributed in tropical America (West Indies, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Lesser Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Surinam, Trinidad, Tobago, and Venezuela). The extinct species M. aquatica is known from fossils found in a Neotropical rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
environment preserved in the Paleocene
Paleocene
The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...
Cerrejón Formation
Cerrejón Formation
The Cerrejón Formation is a geologic formation in Colombia dating back to the Middle-Late Paleocene. It is found in the El Cerrejón subbasin of the Racheria basin of La Guajira. The formation consists of bituminous coal fields that are an important economic resource. Coal from the Cerrejón...
of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. Living Montrichardia species have a chromosome
Chromosome
A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...
number of 2n=48.