Agalinis angustifolia

Tilcayo Cats original · Plants · Sources and editorial assessment · Originals retention rule

Agalinis angustifolia is a flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It grows in the rocky upland vegetation of Brazil's Espinhaço Range. Its restricted habitat was a concern in a 2012 conservation assessment.

Appearance

The Brazilian flora describes an upright shrub or woody-based plant, fifty to one hundred centimetres tall. Narrow leaves grow in opposite pairs. The dark pink to lilac flowers have a hairy tube about three centimetres long; their stamens reach its mouth or project slightly beyond it.

Ecological relationships

A 2001 anatomical study confirmed root parasitism. Structures called haustoria connected its roots to the water-conducting tissue of neighbouring roots. Fungal threads were also observed inside its root cortex, suggesting a mycorrhizal association. The researchers found signs of possible attachment to roots of its own species, but did not establish whether these belonged to the same individual.

Hummingbirds visited its flowers during fieldwork at Alto do Palácio in Serra do Cipó National Park between August 2007 and July 2009. Visitors were recorded as Augastes scutatus, Campylopterus largipennis and Colibri serrirostris. These are observations from that study area, rather than a complete list of the plant's visitors throughout its range.

Conservation

CNCFlora assessed the species as Near Threatened in July 2012. The assessment identified pressures from poorly controlled tourism and property development within its restricted habitat. It counted about fifteen threat-defined locations; this helped distinguish its assessment from the more threatened Vulnerable category. Those figures describe the evidence used in 2012, not a new population count.

Name

William D'Arcy published the combination in Agalinis in 1979, using Martius's earlier species name. The Brazilian flora lists Gerardia angustifolia Mart. as the underlying name.