Malesherbia fasciculata

Malesherbia fasciculata is a subshrub that is native to the subtropics of Northern and Central Chile.

Morphology
M. fasciculata is described as ashy, with many stems originating from the same root covered in very short hairs. M. fasciculata grows up to 1-2 feet tall and has "leathery" leaves.

Reproduction
The flowers of M. fasciculata are white with red sepals, dark purple anthers, and are globular in shape. Flowers bloom in November.

Molecular biology
M. fasciculata was one of the species selected for the 1000 Plant Transcriptome project.

Historical classification
M. fasciculata was originally described in 1881/1882 by David Don. Similar to other species in the genera, Max J. Roem would attempt and fail to reclassify the species as Gynopleura in 1846.

Varieties
There are two varieties of M. fasciculata; var. fasciculata and var. glandulosa.

M. fasciculata var. fasciculata (D.don) is found in Coquimbo, Valparaíso, Metropolitana and Del General Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins in a variety of biomes.

M. fasciculata var. glandulosa (Ricardi) is much more localized, having only been identified at the Hurtado river's basin within the Coquimbo region.

The varieties differ from each other by the number of flowers formed on each stem, var. fasciculata will have 3-7 flowers whereas var. glandulosa has a single flower per stem. Additionally, var. glandulosa has matted hairs and glandular hairs on the leaves and apex of sepals.

Photographs
Hosted by ChileFlora


 * Whole plant photo 1 photo 2
 * Flower photo 1 photo 2 photo 3