''Gesneria pauciflora'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the family

Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Gesnerioideae), wit ...

known by the common name ''yerba maricao de cueva''. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, where there are only three populations remaining.USFWS
Recovery Plan for ''Gesneria pauciflora''.
October 6, 1998. It was federally listed as a threatened species of the United States in 1995.USFWS
Species Profile: ''Gesneria pauciflora''.
/ref> This is a small shrub with dark green, glossy leaves and tubular orange or yellowish flowers around 2 centimeters long. It grows in wet forested habitat within the

Maricao Commonwealth Forest Maricao State Forest ( Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Maricao'') is a state forest located in the eastern Cordillera Central mountains of Puerto Rico. It is commonly known as ''Monte del Estado'' due to the fact that it was one of the first forest ...

of Puerto Rico. It grows along the Maricao River, Seco River, and a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

of the Lajas River in rocky serpentine soils. The plants may grow within the stream bed between the black or greenish serpentine rocks and in the

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classif ...

. At times, the plant is submerged in high water. The plant is gregarious, growing in colonial mats. The plants flower throughout the year, with most flowering occurring during the rainy season in August, September, and October. Threats to the species include forest management practices such as trail construction, and

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is di ...

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...

s, and other forces that affect the habitat. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''pauciflora'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

for 'few-flowered'.D. Gledhill

References

External links

pauciflora Endemic flora of Puerto Rico {{Gesneriaceae-stub