Macleania insignis is a species of flowering plant in the blueberry family, Ericaceae. Its most common ancestors in North America include blueberries and cranberries.Luteyn, J. L. (1976). Notes on Neotropical Vaccinieae (Ericaceae). III. New and Noteworthy Species from Mexico and Central America. Brittonia, 28(4), 400. http://doi.org/10.2307/2805602 The family Ericaceae is spread across the world, with a large concentration found in South America. This plant falls within the Neotropical subgroup and then Andean clade of this family.Kron, K. A., Powell, E. A., & Luteyn, J. L. (2002). Phylogenetic relationships within the blueberry tribe (Vaccinieae, Ericaceae) based on sequence data from MATK and nuclear ribosomal ITS regions, with comments on the placement of Satyria. American Journal of Botany, 89(2), 327–36. http://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.89.2.327 The Psammisia II section shares the closest common ancestor to this plant, and its closest split on a family tree is shared with Macleania coccoloboides and Macleania bullata. Phylogenic classification of M. insignis has primarily been carried out through an examination of morphological traits as well as genetic analysis.Pedraza-Penalosa, P., Salinas, N., S. Virnig, A., & Wheeler, W. (2015). Preliminary phylogenetic analysis of the Andean clade and the placement of new Colombian blueberries (Ericaceae, Vaccinieae). PhytoKeys, 49, 13–31. http://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.49.8622 Macleania is an angiosperm eudicot, in the order of Ericales and the family Ericaceae.
Description Macleania insignis displays 3 cm tubular red orange flowers and dense shiny oval leaves. It can grow in a cloud forest (as an epiphyte) and as a terrestrial plant. The plant can spread out over several feet, and its roots form large, woody tubers that partially emerge above the soil surface in terrestrial plants. Macleania produces an edible fruit that is purple and lightly sweet.Macleania insignis. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.strangewonderfulthings.com/178.htm
In the wild In a natural setting plants within the Macleania clade are pollinated by hummingbirds. The ability of a plant to attract a pollinator impacts its level of reproductive success.Fuchs, E. J., Ross-Ibarra, J., & Barrantes, G. (2010). Reproductive biology of Macleania rupestris (Ericaceae), a pollen-limited Neotropical cloud-forest species in Costa Rica. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 26(3), 351–354. http://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467410000064 Macleania are found in regions of cloud forest in Central and South America, specifically Mexico, Costa Rica, and Colombia.
Cultivation Macleania insignis is considered to be a desirable and attractive greenhouse plant, it can be found for sale but is rare. M. insignis prefers moderate greenhouse conditions and partial shade
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