Pinguicula laxifolia
Encyclopedia
Pinguicula laxifolia is an insectivorous plant
of the genus
Pinguicula
native to the Mexican
state of Tamaulipas
, the only member of the section
Orchidioides. Its pendulous leaves are unusual in the genus, which features mostly species with stiff or succulent leaves.
herb
bearing pendulous to semi-erect elliptic or oblanceolate 40–68 mm (1.5-3 in.) long leaves. These are densely covered with stalked mucilagenous and sessile digestive glands, which serve to trap and digest insect
prey and absorb the resulting nutrient mixture to supplement their nitrate-low environment. During dryer winter conditions when food is scarce, P. laxifolia forms winter rosettes of short, non-carnivorous leaves to decrease the loss of energy used on carnivorous mechanisms, showing clearly the cost of carnivory.
The flowers are pink to pale violet, with a white throat and darker violet markings. They are thought to appear from February through March.
, Mexico. Here it grows on well-shaded vertical rock walls from 6300-6800 ft. in altitude. Although it appears to have an extremely restricted distribution, little is yet known about this species.
Carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic...
of 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...
Pinguicula
Pinguicula
The butterworts are a group of carnivorous plants comprising the genus Pinguicula. Members of this genus use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they obtain from the environments. Of the roughly 80 currently known species, 12...
native to the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
state of Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
, the only member of the section
Section (botany)
In botany, a section is a taxonomic rank below the genus, but above the species. The subgenus, if present, is higher than the section, and the rank of series, if present, is below the section. Sections are typically used to help organise very large genera, which may have hundreds of species...
Orchidioides. Its pendulous leaves are unusual in the genus, which features mostly species with stiff or succulent leaves.
Morphology
P. laxifolia is a perennial rosettedRosette (botany)
In botany, a rosette is a circular arrangement of leaves, with all the leaves at a single height.Though rosettes usually sit near the soil, their structure is an example of a modified stem.-Function:...
herb
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
bearing pendulous to semi-erect elliptic or oblanceolate 40–68 mm (1.5-3 in.) long leaves. These are densely covered with stalked mucilagenous and sessile digestive glands, which serve to trap and digest insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
prey and absorb the resulting nutrient mixture to supplement their nitrate-low environment. During dryer winter conditions when food is scarce, P. laxifolia forms winter rosettes of short, non-carnivorous leaves to decrease the loss of energy used on carnivorous mechanisms, showing clearly the cost of carnivory.
The flowers are pink to pale violet, with a white throat and darker violet markings. They are thought to appear from February through March.
Distribution and habitat
P. laxifolia is known only from its remote type location in the "El Cielo" cloudforest bioreserve in TamaulipasTamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
, Mexico. Here it grows on well-shaded vertical rock walls from 6300-6800 ft. in altitude. Although it appears to have an extremely restricted distribution, little is yet known about this species.