Gutierrezia elegans
Gutierrezia elegans, the Lone Mesa snakeweed, is a species of Gutierrezia endemic to the United States.
| Gutierrezia elegans | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Gutierrezia |
| Species: | G. elegans |
| Binomial name | |
| Gutierrezia elegans Al Schneid. & P.Lyon | |
Discovery
Gutierrezia elegans was discovered by Peggy Lyon, a Colorado State University botanist, and Al Schneider, an amateur botanist of the Four Corners area, August 4, 2008.[1] Lyon and Schneider found the plant while they were putting together a list of plant species in Lone Mesa State Park in Colorado. Peggy said that they would have missed noticing the plant if they were only looking for known rare plants.[2] They sent the specimen to Guy Nesom, a plant expert. Guy and other experts examined the plant and agreed that it was a previously undiscovered species of Gutierrezia. Tim Hogan, an employee of the University of Colorado Herbarium, said that the discovery shows us how little we know about biodiversity.[1]
The Lone Mesa snakeweed was the sixth new plant discovered in Colorado in roughly 15 years.[2]
References
- Pepperl, Natasha (2009-02-04). "CSU botanist discovers new plant species". Collegian. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
- Jaffe, Mark (2009-02-02). ""Pretty" snakeweed discovered in on a mesa". Denver Post. Retrieved 2009-08-23.