''Lobelia telekii'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

in the family

Campanulaceae The family Campanulaceae (also bellflower family), of the order Asterales, contains nearly 2400 species in 84 genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often with milky sap. Among them are several familiar garden plants belo ...

, that is found only in the alpine zones of

Mount Kenya Mount Kenya (Kikuyu language, Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba language, Kamba, ''Ki Nyaa'') is the highest mountain in Kenya and the Highest mountain peaks of Africa, second-highest in Africa, after Mount Kilimanjaro, Kilimanjaro. The highest pea ...

Mount Elgon Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda.

, and the Aberdare Mountains of

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...

. It occurs at higher altitudes on well-drained sloped hillsides. It is a

semelparous Semelparity and iteroparity are two contrasting reproductive strategies available to living organisms. A species is considered semelparous if it is characterized by a single reproductive episode before death, and iteroparous if it is characteri ...

species, putting all its reproductive effort into producing single large

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are forme ...

up to tall, and then dying. Inflorescences of ''L. telekii'' also possesses a large pith-volume for internal water storage and marcescent foliage which could provide insulation. It secretes a polysaccharide into this reservoir, which may be useful for its survival in the cold climate. The plant is named after the Austro-Hungarian explorer, Count Sámuel Teleki. ''L. telekii'' plants usually consist of a single rosette, which grows for several decades, flowers once, and then dies. However, a very small number of plants have multiple rosettes connected by an underground stem. Each flower is subtended by a long hairy bract, and the overall appearance has led to the nickname " Cousin Itt lobelia". The

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s of ''L. telekii'' are hidden among the large bracts within the

. The leaves and bracts are blue-green, and the flowers purple. Each flower can produce up to several hundred small (<1mm diameter) dark seeds, which are passively dispersed. On

, ''Lobelia telekii'' occurs at elevations of . It inhabits the drier hill slopes, while its close relative '' Lobelia keniensis'' prefers the moister valley bottoms. Partially fertile hybrids do occur. The hill slopes often have rocky moraines that are home to Mount Kenya

rock hyrax The rock hyrax (; ''Procavia capensis''), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the ...

, which sometimes eat lobelia leaves and inflorescences, but herbivores are generally deterred by the lobelia's bitter toxic sap, which contains

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of simila ...

s, probably including

lobeline Lobeline is a pyridine alkaloid found in a variety of plants, particularly those in the genus ''Lobelia'', including Indian tobacco ('' Lobelia inflata''), Devil's tobacco ('' Lobelia tupa''), great lobelia (''Lobelia siphilitica''), '' Lobelia c ...

Taxonomy

''Lobelia telekii'' was previously classified under the Rhynchopetalum section within the Tupa subgenus. The genus has since been reconfigured so that Tupa and Rhynchopetalum are separate sections, with ''L. telekii'' falling into the latter. Tupa and Rhynchopetalum are separated by their difference in chromosome count and geographic distribution, supported by morphological differences.

References

External links

* telekii Flora of Africa Afromontane flora {{Campanulaceae-stub