Canarina

Canarina
Canarina canariensis
Canary Island bellflower
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Campanulaceae
Genus: Canarina
L.
Species

see text

Canarina is a genus of flowering plants within the family Campanulaceae. They are herbaceous perennial vines with bell-shaped flowers. The best known species is C. canariensis from the laurel forests of the Canary Islands which is grown as an ornamental plant. Canarina canariensis is one of a group of unrelated Canarian plants that appear to be adapted for bird pollination, including the members of the genera Isoplexis and Lotus. It was once thought that the original pollinators of these plants were sunbirds which had become extinct on the Canary Islands, explaining why some of these species are rare and considered endangered (Vogel 1954; Vogel et al. 1984; Olesen 1985; Valido et al. 2004). However more recent work has shown that these plants are adequately pollinated by non-specialist flower visiting birds, particularly the Canary Islands chiffchaff (Phylloscopus canariensis) and the Canary Island spectacled warbler (Sylvia conspicillata orbitalis) (Olesen 1985; Ollerton et al. 2008), and in fact show some specific adaptations to infrequent pollination by these birds, such as extended flower lifespans (Ollerton et al. 2008), and a hexose-dominated sugar ratio of the nectar (Dupont et al. 2004).

In frost-prone areas, C. canariensis is best grown under glass in the winter.[1] It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[2]

Species include:

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canarina.
  1. ↑ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 1405332964.
  2. ↑ "RHS Plant Selector - Canarina canariensis". Retrieved 13 June 2013.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/15/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.