Canna fuchsina sp. nov. (Cannaceae-Zingiberales): descripción y relaciones con otras especies silvestres del género y con el grupo C. × generalis

Abstract

Canna fuchsina is a name proposed to designate a new species of the genus Canna. The species grows in wild, dense colonies, which individuals bear large, intense fuchsia colored flowers, that reproduce sexually; plants thrive in humid, riverside coastal areas and small wetlands from Buenos Aires and Santa Fe Provinces, Argentina. After the study of their phenology and morphology, conclusions are that normal pollen grains and fruits are produced, and seed develops naturally in wild and in vitro conditions. The individuals of C. fuchsina resembles others belonging to the C. × generalis group, both in some vegetative and floral characters, such as the presence of wide staminodia. However, the name C. fuchsina must be applied only to the wild individuals that bear fuchsia colored flowers, since C. × generalis refers to a wide, not well characterized variety of taxa, with flowers of different colors and sizes. The characters of C. fuchsina are consistent with those of similar individuals with fuchsia colored flowers from United States and Australia, also linked to the group C. × generalis. C. fuchsina is considered the result of naturalization, after the introduction and spread of the group said, as ornamentals, since establish independent breeding colonies. A detailed description of the species, its morphology and ecology are given; the affinities with other wild species of Canna, and the importance of new characters in the systematics of the genus are also discussed.