Erythranthe peregrina
| Erythranthe peregrina | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Phrymaceae |
| Genus: | Erythranthe |
| Species: | E. peregrina |
| Binomial name | |
|
Erythranthe peregrina (Vallejo-Marin) G.L.Nesom |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
Erythranthe peregrina is a species of monkeyflower. Its Latin name means "foreign", or more loosely "the foreigner". This species is a rare example of polyploidization and speciation where sterility did not occur. It was discovered in 2011, first reported in 2012, and named Mimulus peregrinus. Around the same time, the genus Mimulus was restructured and this species is now called Erythranthe peregrina and is in the section Simiolus. The species was less than 140 years old at the time of discovery in 2011; its discoverer, Professor Mario Vallejo-Marin of the University of Stirling, compared finding it to "looking at the big bang in the first milliseconds of its occurrence".
Erythranthe peregrina has a high level of pollen and seed fertility. Its vegetative and floral characteristics are intermediate between its two ancestral species, E. guttata and E. lutea.E. peregrina is a perennial herb 5–30 centimetres (2.0–11.8 in) high. The leaves are generally variable, ovate-oblong 3–14 by 1.5–4 centimetres (1.18–5.51 by 0.59–1.57 in). Petioles are about 75% as long as the blades. Pedicels are 2.5–5 centimetres (0.98–1.97 in). Sepals are 1.5–2.5 centimetres (0.59–0.98 in) and have five triangular teeth. The flowers are yellow with red spots. Throats are slightly hairy. Stamens produce large amounts of pollen. The germination rates of self-fertilized seeds is about 80%.
Polyploidization is a mechanism of sympatric speciation because polyploids are usually unable to interbreed with their diploid ancestors due to the difference in chromosome numbers. Sequencing confirmed that this species originated from E. × robertsii, a sterile triploid hybrid (2n = 3x = 46) between E. guttata and E. lutea, both of which have been introduced and naturalized in the United Kingdom.
...
Wikipedia