Colura

Colura
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Marchantiophyta
Class: Jungermanniopsida
Subclass: Jungermanniidae
Order: Lejeuneales
Family: Lejeuneaceae
Genus: Colura
(Dumort.) Dumort.[1]
Type species
Jungermannia calyptrifolia
Hook.
Species

Approximately 60, see text

Synonyms[2]
  • Lejeunea sect. Colura Dumort.
  • Lejeunea subgen. Colurolejeunea Spruce
  • Colurolejeunea (Spruce) Steph.
  • Myriocolea Spruce
  • Mitrojeunea Kuntze

Colura is a genus of epiphytic type of liverworts and consists of approximately 80-90 species,[2] that are distributed generally in the tropics.[3]

Species in this genus are no larger than a couple millimetres in size and may possess small water sac organs formed from fused leaf margins that trap small ciliates. It is because of this trapping mechanism that some species have been suspected of carnivory, even as early as 1893. One such species, Colura zoophaga, was the subject of a study that aimed to investigate the assumed carnivorous habit among liverworts. The results confirmed that ciliates were captured and died within the water sac traps, which are not unlike the bladder traps of Utricularia. Whether the species attract, digest, or absorb the prey has not been confirmed, however. The epiphytic habit of the genus, requiring all nutrients to be acquired from rainwater, is similar to the habit of known carnivorous plants.[4][5]

Species

98 species are accepted by GBIF (as of June 2023);[3]

References

  1. ^ Dumortier, B.C.J., 1893. Hepaticae ... aus Engler-Prantl 131.
  2. ^ a b "Colura (Dumort.) Dumort". World Flora Online. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Colura (Dumort.) Dumort". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  4. ^ Barthlott, W., Porembski, S., Seine, R., and Theisen, I. (2007). The Curious World of Carnivorous Plants: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Biology and Cultivation. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 180-181.
  5. ^ Barthlott, W., Fischer, E., Frahm, J.-P., and Seine, R. (2000). First experimental evidence for zoophagy in the hepatic Colura. Plant Biology (Stuttgart), 2: 93-97.