Jara from Cartagena

jara from Cartagena

Endemic plants are those that are unique to where they are born. That is, you will only be able to find it in that part of the world and not in another. For example, in the world of animals, the Iberian lynx is endemic to Spain, so you will only find it in Spain. Today we are going to talk about an endemic plant in the southeast of Spain that, unfortunately, is suffering serious consequences and threats. Is about the jara of Cartagena (Cistus heterophyllus subsp. of Carthage).

Do you want to know the characteristics of this plant and the recovery and conservation work that is being carried out?

Key features

Cartagena rockrose flowers

The rockrose from Cartagena is a unique species from southeastern Spain and belongs to the family cistaceae. It is a subspecies of phanerogam and is currently critically endangered.

It is a shrub that usually reaches 80-90 centimeters in height. It is quite branched and on the branches it has quite dense hairs that serve to protect the plant from the cold and insects. The upper leaves are sessile and the lower ones are more petioled. The petals are small, measuring up to 25 mm in length, and their main color is pink with some yellow basal spots.

The rockrose of Cartagena has an encapsulated fruit up to a size of 9 mm in length. It has a globe shape and its seeds are brown in color.

Habitat and area of ​​distribution

Characteristics of the jara de Cartagena

These plants are used to higher temperatures, which is why they are part of thermophilic bushes. These thickets develop in the part of the climate that has semi-arid and dry characteristics. They are found in Murcia, mainly, and live in thickets in which the Brachypodium retusum dominate and which are located at an altitude of about 100 to 200 meters.

This plant could be found in the Murcia area of ​​​​the Peña del Águila at the beginning of the 1986th century. However, its number of individuals was so small and so difficult to find that it was considered an extinct plant until XNUMX. In this year a specimen that could not produce seeds was found in Valencia.

Later, in 1993, some specimens were found again in the Peña del Águila but they were destroyed by a forest fire. After that fire, they were able to recover and develop 26 new individuals and these can be reproduced.

Biology

Jara de Cartagena without blooming

This plant is hermaphrodite and it is usually pollinated by insects belonging to the Coleoptera and Hymenoptera orders (mainly beetles and bees). Every year it blooms, although it is quite scarce due to its alogamous nature, that is, due to its cross-fertilization by genetically different individuals. This makes their attraction to pollinators low. To this is added that the flowers last a very short time so that, among the rockrose, they compete. Another factor that decreases fruiting is consanguinity.

The rockrose of Cartagena disperses its seeds through the wind or by the action of animals. Once they are deposited on the ground, they are carried by the ants. When they are wet, they become sticky seeds that serve to stick to the skin or hair of animals and can be expanded territorially.

Threats

Jara de Cartagena in critical danger of extinction

Currently, the rockrose of Cartagena is critically endangered. This situation has led researchers from the School of Agricultural Engineers of the Polytechnic University of Cartagena to develop a project based on the recovery and conservation techniques of this species. Many of the actions of this project began in January 2017 and were supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment and the Ministry of Water, Agriculture and Environment of the Region of Murcia.

Law 42/2007, of December 13, on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity it is the one that regulates all categories of threats that have binding properties. The categories of threat collected by the red books and red lists are not binding or legal, so they are merely scientific and informative. For this reason, work has been going on for months to include this plant in the Law as in “critical danger” of extinction in order to carry out a series of stricter and more effective conservation measures and actions.

Given the great urban expansion of the human being and the different impacts that we cause on the natural environment, this plant is being pressured. In addition, it is added the complicated biology and the low reproductive success that it has and it is possible to have a plant with a degree of threat much higher than others.

Recovery and conservation work

Rockrose conservation work

In order to safeguard rockrose populations and prevent extinction, various works have been carried out. The main work to conserve rockrose was called «Actions for the recovery and conservation of the endangered species Jara de Cartagena (Cistus heterophyllus subsp. of Carthage) “.

The Murcia Archaeological Museum held a 14-month conference in which visitors were informed about the main characteristics of the plant, its distribution area and habitat, its reproduction and the current degree of threat. This project was developed by researchers from the School of Agronomic Engineering of the Polytechnic University of Cartagena, with the support of the Biodiversity Foundation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment, and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment of the Region of Murcia.

Projects have also been developed with the aim of reducing the threat in which In situ and ex situ recovery techniques are combined, as well as an increase in social awareness.

Among the in situ measures carried out to protect the plant is the creation of 6 new population centers of rockrose from Cartagena in its natural distribution area. It has been located within the Regional Park of Calblanque, Monte de las Cenizas and Peña del Águila.

Given the extreme situation of its total disappearance, an attempt is made to safeguard its genetic diversity with ex situ conservation techniques, establishing a plantation in the Wild Flora Conservation Center and an in vitro culture collection that will be maintained at the Polytechnic University of Cartagena as security duplicate in the short-medium term. Some techniques have also been employed to trace some older items that indicate hybridization occurred in the habitat between the Cartagena rockrose and the white rockrosewhich is more abundant.

It is important to keep the population informed about the situation of this plant, which is why several awareness campaigns have been carried out on rockrose and even in the children’s sector.

In this video you can get to know the rockrose of Cartagena in depth:

As you can see, this plant is an endemism of our peninsula and has unique characteristics that make it special. We have to contribute to its conservation to avoid its complete extinction.

Jara from Cartagena

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