Utricularia regia
Encyclopedia
Utricularia regia is a carnivorous plant
that belongs to the genus
Utricularia and is endemic to the Sierra Madre del Sur
region of Guerrero
, Mexico
. It is similar to U. hintonii
and U. petersoniae
, but it is easily distinguished from these species by the unusual 4-lobed division of the upper corolla lip and the unique color pattern. Utricularia regia is an annual
rupicolous species that is found growing among rocks with mosses and Selaginella in pine forests at altitudes from 1650 m (5,413 ft) to 1900 m (6,234 ft). It grows during the rainy season and flowers from September to October, producing fruit from October to early November. The specific epithet regia was chosen because of the appearance of an inverted crown in the markings of the lower corolla lip. It was discovered in 2005 and collected again on subsequent botanical explorations in preparation for the Flora de Guerrero. It was formally described in a 2009 volume of Brittonia by Sergio Zamudio and Martha Olvera. The authors placed the new species into Peter Taylor
's section
Psyllosperma, which has subsequently been merged with section Foliosa
based on molecular phylogenetics
.
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...
that belongs to 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...
Utricularia and is endemic to the Sierra Madre del Sur
Sierra Madre del Sur
The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in southern Mexico, extending from southern Michoacán east through Guerrero, to the Istmo de Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca.-Geography:...
region of Guerrero
Guerrero
Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
, Mexico
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...
. It is similar to U. hintonii
Utricularia hintonii
Utricularia hintonii is a small terrestrial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. hintonii is an annual lithophyte that is endemic to Mexico and is only known from the type location about west-southwest of Mexico City. It was originally collected by G. B...
and U. petersoniae
Utricularia petersoniae
Utricularia petersoniae is a small annual carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. petersoniae, a lithophyte, is endemic to the Mexican state of Guerrero. It was first published and described by Peter Taylor in 1986. It is named in honor of K. M. Peterson, one of the...
, but it is easily distinguished from these species by the unusual 4-lobed division of the upper corolla lip and the unique color pattern. Utricularia regia is an annual
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
rupicolous species that is found growing among rocks with mosses and Selaginella in pine forests at altitudes from 1650 m (5,413 ft) to 1900 m (6,234 ft). It grows during the rainy season and flowers from September to October, producing fruit from October to early November. The specific epithet regia was chosen because of the appearance of an inverted crown in the markings of the lower corolla lip. It was discovered in 2005 and collected again on subsequent botanical explorations in preparation for the Flora de Guerrero. It was formally described in a 2009 volume of Brittonia by Sergio Zamudio and Martha Olvera. The authors placed the new species into Peter Taylor
Peter Taylor (botanist)
Peter Geoffrey Taylor was a British botanist who worked at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew throughout his career in botany. Taylor was born in 1926 and joined the staff of the herbarium at Kew in 1948. He published his first new species, Utricularia pentadactyla, in 1954...
's 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...
Psyllosperma, which has subsequently been merged with section Foliosa
Utricularia sect. Foliosa
Utricularia sect. Foliosa is a section in the genus Utricularia. The species in this section are small or medium-sized terrestrial carnivorous plants native to North and South America....
based on molecular phylogenetics
Phylogenetics
In biology, phylogenetics is the study of evolutionary relatedness among groups of organisms , which is discovered through molecular sequencing data and morphological data matrices...
.