Jump to content

Espeletia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Staticshakedown (talk | contribs) at 17:08, 13 June 2020 (Importing Wikidata short description: "Genus of plants" (Shortdesc helper)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Espeletia
Espeletia in Páramo de Guerrero (Colombia)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Asterales
Family:
Asteraceae
Tribe:
Millerieae[1]
Genus:
Espeletia

Synonyms[1]

Espeletia, commonly known as 'frailejones' ("big monks"[2]), is a genus of perennial subshrubs, in the sunflower family.[3] The genus, which is native mainly to Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, was first formally described in 1808.[4] The genus was named after the viceroy of New Granada, José Manuel de Ezpeleta.

Espeletia grandiflora

The plants live at high altitude in páramo ecosystems. The trunk is thick, with succulent hairy leaves disposed in a dense spiral pattern. Marcescent leaves help protect the plants from cold. The flowers are usually yellow, similar to daisies.

The frailejón plant is endangered due to destruction of the páramo for agricultural purposes, especially potato crops. This activity continues, despite the Colombian government declaring it illegal. Since about 2010 the plants have also come under attack by beetle larvae, a moth and a fungus, some new to science but suspected to be related to climate change which allows lower-altitude species to flourish.[2]

The Espeletia is well known for contributing to the world in water sustainability by capturing water vapor from passing clouds in its spongy trunk and releasing it through the roots into the soil[2], thus helping to create vast high-altitude subterranean water deposits and lakes that will eventually form rivers.

Espeletia schultzii
Espeletia, El Cocuy, Colombia
Espeletia pycnophylla
Espeletia pycnophylla

Species[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist". Archived from the original on 2014-11-22. Retrieved 2014-11-22.
  2. ^ a b c Damian Carrington (9 April 2019). "In the land of El Dorado, clean water has become 'blue gold'". The Guardian.
  3. ^ Tropicos, Espeletia Mutis ex Bonpl.
  4. ^ Mutis, José Celestino Bruno ex Bonpland, Aimé Jacques Alexandre in Humboldt, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von & Bonpland, Aimé Jacques Alexandre. 1808. Plantes équinoxiales recueillies au Mexique : dans l'île de Cuba, dans les provinces de Caracas, de Cumana et de Barcelone, aux Andes de la Nouvelle Grenade, de Quito et du Pérou, et sur les bords du rio-Negro de Orénoque et de la rivière des Amazones 2(9): 10-16 plates 70-72 descriptions in parallel French and Latin, commentary in French, full page line drawings

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Espeletia.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Espeletia&oldid=962369931"