Lennoa
Genus of plants / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lennoa is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Boraginaceae.[1] It only contains one known species, Lennoa madreporoides Lex. [2] It is within the subfamily of Lennoaceae.[3]
Lennoa | |
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Lennoa madreporoides, Oaxaca Province, Mexico | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Boraginales |
Family: | Boraginaceae |
Genus: | Lennoa Lex. |
Synonyms | |
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Its native range is Mexico to Venezuela. It is found in the countries of Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Venezuela.[2] It is found on hillside elevations from 1,000–1,350 m (3,280–4,430 ft) above sea level.[4]
It has the common name of Flor de tierra (or “flower of the earth”).[4] It is a root parasite,[4] usually found growing on roots of the Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). The oval mushroom-like stem is 5–15 cm (2–6 in) tall and is covered at maturity with small round,[4] or star-like flowers, which are lavender,[4] or violet with yellow throats.[5] They bloom in the fall (autumn).[4]
The genus name of Lennoa is in honour of Joaquín Leño, a Mexican independence fighter.[6] It has one known synonym Corallophyllum Kunth.[1] The species has the Latin specific epithet of madreporoides which refers to the genus Madrepora (which in Latin means "mother of pores") and the Greco-Roman suffix -oides ("similar to"), due to its resemblance to this genus of corals.
Both the genus and the species were first described and published in P.de La Llave & J.M.de Lexarza, Nov. Veg. Descr. Vol.1 on page 7 in 1824.[1][2]