Ambrosina is a genus in the family Araceae that consists of only one species, Ambrosina bassii, and the only genus in the tribe Ambrosineae. This species is the smallest terrestrial aroid in the Mediterranean, growing only to 8 cm tall. It is usually found growing in woodlands on north faces of hillsides and in humus soil that is covering limestone. It is distributed in Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, southern mainland Italy, Tunisia, and Algeria.Govaerts, R. & Frodin, D.G. (2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Araceae (and Acoraceae): 1-560. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.Dobignard, D. & Chatelain, C. (2010). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 1: 1-455. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
Description Ambrosina bassii has oval leaves that are 3.5 to 6 cm long and resemble the leaves of many aroid seedlings. The inflorescence is 2.5 cm long bent over and has an unusual spathe. The spathe is shaped like an egg and is greenish brown with dots on it. Inside the egg shaped spathe is divided two chambers. In one chamber is contained a single female flower and in the other are 8 to 10 male flowers. The seeds have an elaiosome.Bown, Deni (2000). Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Timber Press |pages= 141-142| . However, seeds are rarely formed, as this species exhibits a low reproductive rate.
Pollen The inaperturate pollen grains are 26–50 μm big. It disperses as a single grain (monad).Halbritter, H. (2016, November 3). Ambrosina bassii. PalDat - Palynological Database an Online Publication on Recent Pollen. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://www.paldat.org/pub/Ambrosina_bassii/301765
Population genetics Ambrosina is the only representative of its genus and is quite unique. It has been shown that it has high heterozygosity, as it has an average of two loci per allele. The data represents that genetic variation attributes to differences among populations from different geographical territories. Also, the local anthropogenic fragmentation has caused no time for genetic drift or interbreeding to erode genetic variation, this eventually resulted in generating differences between populations. The effective population size is low in natural populations.Quilichini, A., Torre, A., & Gibernau, M. (2005). "Preliminary data on the biology and reproduction of Ambrosina bassii L.(Araceae) in Corsica." Aroideana, 28, 37–42.
Phylogeny It is closely related to the genera Arisarum, Peltandra, and Typhonodorum. Ambrosina is the sister group to Arisarum, from which it separated about 46.1 Million years ago.Mansion, G., Rosenbaum, G., Schoenenberger, N., Bacchetta, G., Rosselló, J. A., & Conti, E. (2008). "Phylogenetic analysis informed by geological history supports multiple, sequential invasions of the Mediterranean Basin by the angiosperm family Araceae." Systematic Biology, 57(2), 269–285.
The precise relationships are displayed in the following cladogram:
Taxonomy Species The genus is monotypic and only consists of Ambrosina bassii.
Varieties The following three varieties have been described: Ambrosina bassii var. angustifolia Guss. Ambrosina bassii var. maculata (Ucria) Parl. Ambrosina bassii var. reticulata (Tineo) Parl. However, none of them are accepted.
Former species Multiple species have been moved from the genus Ambrosina to Cryptocoryne: Ambrosina ciliaris Spreng. is a synonym of Cryptocoryne ciliata var. ciliata Ambrosina ciliata Roxb. is a synonym of Cryptocoryne ciliata (Roxb.) Schott Ambrosina retrospiralis Roxb. is a synonym of Cryptocoryne retrospiralis (Roxb.) Kunth Ambrosina roxburghiana Voigt is a synonym of Cryptocoryne retrospiralis (Roxb.) Kunth Ambrosina spirialis (Retz.) Roxb. is a synonym of Cryptocoryne spiralis (Retz.) Fisch. ex Wydler Ambrosina unilocularis Roxb. is a synonym of Cryptocoryne retrospiralis (Roxb.) Kunth
Ecology Visitation of inflorescences The inflorescences are visited by springtails, Embiidae, earwigs, mites of the genera Penthaleus or Bdella, and millipedes.
Seed dispersal The seeds are attractive to ants, as the seed is coated in an edible elaiosome. Due to this edible coating, the ants disperse the seeds.
Parasite ecology Ambrosina foliage may be affected by reddish-brown, 0–1 mm large leaf spots caused by the phytopatogenic fungus Entylomaster dietelianus (Bubák) Vánky & R.G. Shivas (syn. Entyloma dietelianum BubákEntylomaster dietelianus (Bubák) Vánky & R.G. Shivas. (n.d.). Index Fungorum - Species Fungorum Species Fungorum. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.speciesfungorum.org/Names/SynSpecies.asp?RecordID=510116Entylomaster dietelianus (Bubák) Vánky & R.G. Shivas. (2013). Catalogue of Life: 2013 Annual Checklist Indexing the World's Known Species. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2013/details/species/id/8464180). Numerous 10–16 μm large spores are embedded within the leaf spots. This fungal disease is specific to the family Araceae.Willem N. Ellis. (2017). Ambrosina bassii – Plant Parasites of Europe. Retrieved February 4, 2023, from https://bladmineerders.nl/host-plants/plantae/spermatopsida/angiosperma/monocots/alismatales/araceae/aroideae/ambrosina/ambrosina-bassii/W.N. Ellis. (2017). Entyloma dietelianum. Plant Parasites of Europe Leafminers, Galls and Fungi. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://bladmineerders.nl/parasites/fungi/dikarya/basidiomycota/ustilaginomycotina/exobasidiomycetes/exobasidiomycetidae/entylomatales/entylomataceae/entyloma/entyloma-dietelianum/
Etymology The generic name Ambrosina honours the brothers Bartolomeo Ambrosini (1588–1657) and Giacinto Ambrosini (1605–1671).Troia, A., Schicchi, R., & Geraci, A. (2018). "Typification of the Linnaean name Ambrosinia bassii and other nomenclatural remarks in the genus Ambrosinia (Araceae)." Taxon, 67(6), 1183–1186.
Conservation Despite being listed as species of least concern by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it is legally protected in France.Franck Le Driant. (n.d.). Ambrosinia de Bassi. Flore Alpes. Retrieved February 6, 2023, from https://www.florealpes.com/fiche_ambrosinabassii.php
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