2023 Author: Bryan Walter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 22:24
Psammisia pinnata.
Paola Pedraza-Penalosa, a researcher at the New York Botanical Gardens, discovered in Colombia five new relatives of bilberries, blueberries and cranberries - members of the same tribe Vaccinieae Rchb. The work was published in PhytoKeys.
Psammisia pinnata
Psammisia pseudoverticillata
Psammisia sophiae
Satyria orquidiensis
Satyria pterocalyx
They are small woody plants belonging to the Ericaceae family. The height of the largest of them reaches one and a half meters, and most of the species are epiphytes, that is, they grow on trees. The plants were described during field work in Columbia as part of a collaboration between the New York Botanic Gardens and the National Columbia Herbarium. DNA sequencing made it possible to establish their phylogenetic affiliation: three botanical species were attributed to the genus Psammisia, two more to the genus Satyria. Blueberries, bilberries and cranberries are known to belong to a sister genus in the tribe of belonging - Vaccinium. The new species were named Psammisia pinnata, P. pseudoverticillata, Satyria orquidiensis, S. pterocalyx, and P. sophiae.
A joint project between Colombia and the United States aims to describe endangered rare plant species in Colombia. Due to the combination of tropical and foothill climates, the Colombian Andes are known for their diversity of species. It is there that the largest number of species in the genus Vaccinium grows.
