Researchers from the Institute of Biological Resources (IRB) of INTA's Natural Resources Research Center (CIRN) found a mimosa plant in Misiones that until now had only been
registered
in the Alto Paraná department of Paraguay, and in the state of Paraná, in Brazil.
It is the
Mimosa serra
, a shrub that can reach six meters in height, and which was detected in a floodplain surrounded by forests, near the city of San Ignacio.
The new species was discovered by researcher Héctor Keller on one of his field trips
during the
coronavirus pandemic.
And it was Matías Morales who came to the conclusion that it was a variety of Mimosa of which he had no record in the country.
Morales recounted: “We found
325 adult specimens
in a flooded pasture that is close to one hectare and is surrounded by pine trees.
For now it is the only place where it appeared, so we can talk about an endemic variety”, explained the researcher.
Morales has been conducting research in Mesopotamia for almost two decades.
And in recent times his work brought him to Misiones because of his diversity.
“I have been doing surveys for a long time and some colleagues who are also working send me photos of plants they find on their tours and I classify them.
That's how Hector Keller found this Mimosa.
When I start to study it, I see that due to its characteristics it was not
one of the 58 varieties
that we have registered in Argentina.
Of that total, 48 are present in Misiones, ”he explained.
The new variety of Mimosa found in Misiones until now had only been registered in Paraguay and Brazil.
"We brought samples and after analyzing them in detail we came to the conclusion that it is the Mimosa serra, a species of which there are records near Curitiba and in the department of Alto Paraná, in Paraguay, which are places very distant from San Ignacio," explained the researcher.
“In principle we can talk about it being an
endemic species
because until now we have only been able to locate it in that pasture.
The fields in southern Misiones are usually very interesting because there are many endemic or rare species," Morales said.
The province of Misiones could be divided into two large ecoregions: the Campos del Sur, made up of wetlands, grasslands, and savannahs;
and the jungle, from the central area to the north.
threatened specimens
“Many times the province of Misiones is quickly associated with the presence of a humid and dense forest, rich in species.
However, it is rarely linked to the presence of grasslands where there are
very attractive, rare and increasingly difficult to see native plants
, ”said Morales.
The studies being carried out by the Institute of Biological Resources, together with other scientists from INTA and CONICET on the native flora of the place, "allow us to appreciate that many species of native plants of ornamental value, potentially medicinal and that provide ecosystem services, are increasingly increasingly rare to see and
grow in very small environments and increasingly altered
, mainly by afforestation and the spread of exotic species," he added.
Regarding the place where the Mimosa serra appeared, Morales said that the specimens are threatened by other invasive species such as Hedychium coronarium (amber cane) and Pinus taeda (pine).
This is why it has already been proposed that a
management based on its eradication
from the area be addressed”.
The researcher described this finding as
"surprising"
, since the South of Misiones is an area explored for several decades by botanists.
However, in the last decade they have discovered some new plant species (Oxypetalum teyuruarense, O. randinsii, Hedeoma teyucuarensis) or populations of rare plant species (for example, Mimosa paraguariae or M. regnelli), in small areas of natural grassland. , rocky outcrop or even roadsides, from different parts of the province.
Missions. Correspondent
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