Commelinaceae
Thyrsanthemum

Thyrsanthemum laxiflorum (C.B.Clarke) M.Pell. & Espejo

First published in Kew Bull. 76: 277 (2021)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Mexico (Puebla, Morelos, Oaxaca). It is a tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the subtropical biome.

Descriptions

Pellegrini, M.O.O., Espejo-Serna, A. Recircumscription and synopsis of Thyrsanthemum and Weldenia (Commelinaceae), two narrow endemic genera from Mesoamerica. Kew Bull 76, 269–286 (2021). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-021-09948-1

Distribution
Mexico, in the districts of Centro, Coixtlahuaca, Ixtlán, Miahuatlán, and Teotitlán (Oaxaca), and also found in the municipality of Coxcatlán (Puebla), in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions (provinces of Sierra Madre del Sur and Balsas Basin; Morrone et al. 2017).
Ecology
Thyrsanthemum laxiflorum is found in ”bosques de pino-encino” (i.e., pine-oak forests), between 2,000 – 2,500 m. It seems to be the most ecologically specialised species in the genus, being restricted to only two of Morrone et al. (2017) biogeographic provinces.
Conservation
Thyrsanthemum laxiflorum possesses a narrow EOO (c. 22,015.103 km2) and an even narrower AOO (c. 180.000 km2). Herbarium records for this species are considerably sparse, with even fewer made in the last 10 years. Thus, following the IUCN (2001) recommendations, T. laxiflorum should be considered Endangered [EN, A2bcde+B2b(iii, iv, v)+C1].
Phenology
Thyrsanthemum laxiflorum can be found in flower and fruit from July to September.
[KBu]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Bulletin

    • Kew Bulletin
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0