Biología Reproductiva De Una Población Espeletia Curialensis Var Exigua Rodr-Cabeza & S Díaz, (Cordillera Oriental, Colombia)

Abstract

Espeletia curialensis var. exigua Rodr.-Cabeza & S. Díaz , is an endemic species of the Colombian Eastern Cordillera. Its restricted distribution, the presence of very isolated and dispersed populations and the decrease in reproduction rates recorded in the monitoring during the last 10 years, increases the importance of knowing its state of conservation through the characterization of its reproductive biology. For this reason, the formation and maturation of capitula between june of 2015 and january 2016 were followed up on 19 individuals of three height classes with evidence of previous blooms. Mature seeds were taken at three different dates, for each one of the three classes of height of the individuals; and afterwards, they were subjected to germination and viability tests. It was possible to describe the complete reproductive process of the population during the 7 months they were inspected, from the registration of flower buds to seed dispersal. The production of chapters does differ between evaluated height classes; the highest reproductive contribution is generated by the lowest height class. Feasibility tests can only be applied to seeds collected in November, which show less than 5% of achene with developed embryos. A viability of 65% was obtained for the middle height class and 100% for the low height class and a null seed germination capacity for the three height classes evaluated. These results allow inferring that the reproductive capacity of the species is really low, condition that limits the population expansion of the species in situ