Don Quixote gives its name to a new endemic plant of La Mancha

March 27 () –

Botanists have paid tribute to the masterpiece of Miguel de Cervantes by scientifically naming a new species of plant Carex quixotiana restricted to La Mancha.

The epic novel, which tells of the life and travels of the hidalgo Alonso Quijano who becomes the knight-errant Don Quixote de la Mancha, is commonly considered one of the greatest literary works ever written, with its number of editions and translations it is believed that it is only surpassed by those of the Bible.

The new species of plant, Featured in PhytoKeys Magazine, belongs to the sedges of the genus Carex, a group of herbs included in the papyri family (Cyperaceae). The classification (taxonomy) of these plants is difficult, since it is a very diverse and widely distributed genus, whose species are often difficult to differentiate. In fact, C. quixotiana it has eluded the gaze of botanical experts for decades due to its close resemblance to related species.

“Cryptic species are common in complex plant groups, such as sedges, and integrative studies spanning different data sources (eg, morphology, molecular phylogeny, chromosome number, ecological requirements) are needed to tease out systematic relationships and describe with precisely the patterns of biodiversity,” says Santiago Martín-Bravo, a botanist at Pablo de Olavide University in Seville and lead author of the paper.

After a preliminary genetic study pointed out something strange in the specimens of what would later be known as Carex quixotiana, the authors initiated exhaustive field collection campaigns in La Mancha. While studying additional populations of the plant in more detail, using morphology, phylogeny, and chromosome number, the scientists confirmed that they were looking at a species previously unknown to science. Understandably, the distribution range of the newly discovered species, restricted to the mountain ranges surrounding La Mancha (Sierra Madrona and Montes de Toledo), made the authors think of Cervantes’ masterpiece.

Carex quixotiana, known so far from 16 populations, prefers habitats with high water availability, such as small streams, wet meadows, and riparian forests.

Since little is known about the demographics of the species, including the number of mature individuals in the wild, more research is required to determine its conservation status. However, based on what they have learned so far about the species, the authors of the present study assume that “It is an Iberian endemism with a relatively small number of populations and distribution range, that would benefit from legal protection and inclusion in in situ/ex situ conservation programmes”.

In conclusion, the scientists point to their results as further evidence of how much remains to be learned about Earth’s biodiversity, even when it comes to supposedly well-known organisms, such as flowering plants, and countries, whose flora is supposed to be fully documented.