Lotus Berthelotii or Bicolored Golden Lotus Vine
by J McCombie
Title
Lotus Berthelotii or Bicolored Golden Lotus Vine
Artist
J McCombie
Medium
Photograph
Description
This piece has been featured in the FAA Group, "All Natural Beauty of this World".
Lotus berthelotii, is a species in the genus Lotus of the legume family (Fabaceae). The genus Lotus contains more than 100 species which are commononly called lotus, although they are not related to the Asian water lotus (Nelumbo). Lotus name comes from the Greek name lotos that was used by Dioscorides for certain Leguminous plants. berthelotii - Named for Marcelin Berthelot, 19th century French chemist.
Lotus berthelotii (also known as: Trailing Lotus, Golden Lotus Vine, Fire Vine, Parrot's Beak, Coral Gem, Pelican's Beak, Canary Islands Trefoil) is a perennial plant endemic to the Canary Islands. This plant is either extinct in the wild or persists as a few individuals. In 1884 it was already classed as "exceedingly rare" and plant collection probably hastened its decline.
Lotus berthelotii is a shrubby perennial of a creeping or prostrate trailing habit, with soft, silvery leaves divided into 3-5 slender leaflets, each leaflet 1-2 cm (1/2-3/4 inch) long and 1 mm broad, densely covered with fine silvery hairs. The flowers are orange-red to scarlet ("Amazon Sunset") or yellow plus red ("Bicolored") with a black centered, lobster clawlike shape, but slender, 2-4 cm (3/4-1.5 inch) long and 5-8 mm (up to 5/8 inch) broad.
The flowers of Lotus berthelotii and some other Canary Island species appear to be adapted for bird pollination. It was once thought that the original pollinators of these plants (and other genera such as Isoplexis and Canarina) were sunbirds which had become extinct on the Canary Islands, explaining why they are rare and considered endangered species (Vogel 1954; Vogel et al. 1984; Valido et al. 2004). However more recent work has shown that these plants are adequately pollinated by non-specialist flower visiting birds, particularly the Canary Island Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus canariensis), and in fact show some specific adaptations to infrequent pollination by these birds, such as extended flower lifespans.
However, the cultivated population studied by Ollerton et al. (2008) set no fruit, despite the plants receiving large amounts of pollen on their stigmas. This may be because the population was a single, self incompatible clonal genotype; whether this is true of all plants in cultivation is unknown, but may have important implications for the conservation of this species if it is extinct in the wild. Experiments have been undertaken to find new pollinators for the flowers, in hopes that they can successfully be reintroduced to the Islands, but as of 2008, no fruit had been successfully produced. The Parrots beak is however cultivated in the horticulture trade, which can allow even you to own one!
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April 24th, 2013
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