Loading AI tools
Species of flowering plant From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Colobanthus quitensis, also known as the Antarctic pearlwort, is one of two native flowering plants found in the Antarctic region.[2] It has yellow flowers and grows about 5 cm (2 inches) tall, giving it a moss-like appearance. Due to climate change, the species has been spreading rapidly, particularly to areas outside of Antarctica.[3]
| Colobanthus quitensis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Antarctic pearlwort at St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Caryophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Colobanthus |
| Species: | C. quitensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Colobanthus quitensis | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
_Bart_(Caryophyllaceae)_(39733512800).jpg)
Colobanthus quitensis has yellow flowers and grows about 5 cm (two inches) tall, with a cushion-like growth habit that gives it a moss-like appearance. It is an angiosperm, meaning that it is a plant that produces flowers. It relies on wind pollination because of the lack of bees and other pollinating insects in the Antarctic region.[4]
The Antarctic Pearlwort is a tracheophyte, or a vascular plant,[4]meaning that it has tissue used for transporting nutrients called the xylem and the phloem.[5] This differs from mosses, who do not possess these features and are considered non-vascular plants.
Colobanthus quitensis is found on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, on South Georgia,, South Shetland and the Falklands; also in the Andes, becoming increasingly rare northwards, but reaching Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, with a further isolated population in Mexico.[6] It is one of two flowering plants native to Antarctica, with the other species being Deschampsia antartica, also called the Antartica Hair Grass.[7]
Within Antarctica, due to climate change, more seeds are germinating, creating a large number of seedlings and plants. Reports indicate a fivefold increase in these plants, which have extended their ranges southward and cover more extensive areas, wherever found. Research found that the Antarctic pearlwort spread nearly ten times faster during the period 2009 through 2018 compared to between 1960 and 2009.[8] Deschampsia antarctica (Antarctic hairgrass) is the only other native flowering plant in the region.[9] Although future global warming may relieve environmental stress and increase the plants ability to do processes such as photosynthesis, this warming may reduce the plants ability to resist freezing temperatures.[3]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
