Taxonomic Revision of Kaunia (Eupatorieae, Asteraceae), an Andean Genus with Presence in Eastern South America

Abstract

Kaunia R. M. King & H. Rob. is a small genus of 11 species that play an important role in Andean ecosystems, either by dominating specific vegetation units or as subdominant species at boundaries of alder communities and pino del cerro forests. The species of Kaunia are shrubs or small trees with commonly pinkish or white, usually tubular-funnelform corollas of internally smooth lobes lacking papillae, uniformly wide styles, and 20 to 26 chromosomes. A complete and exhaustive treatment of Kaunia is lacking, and so its taxonomy is herein revised. As a result of this work, together with those of previous statistical studies, 10 species of Kaunia are recognized. Kaunia ignorata (Hieron.) R. M. King & H. Rob. is placed under synonymy of K. camataquiensis (Hieron.) R. M. King & H. Rob., and a lectotype for Eupatorium hosanense B. L. Rob. is designated. Our study provides the first morphological and anatomical study of Kaunia. A key to the species, detailed descriptions, illustrations, and distribution maps for each species are also provided.

Essential Oil and Non-Volatile Metabolites from Kaunia longipetiolata (Sch.Bip. ex Rusby) R. M. King and H. Rob., an Andean Plant Native to Southern Ecuador

“…From the botanical point of view, Kaunia R. M. King and H. Rob. (Asteraceae, Eupatorieae) is a small genus of about ten species, comprising shrubs or small trees that play an important role in the Andean ecosystems, from Ecuador to northwestern Argentina and, exceptionally, Brazil and Paraguay [ 21 , 22 ]. They are mostly distributed in different environments of subtropical forests, especially in shrubby layers or secondary forests [ 22 , 23 ].…”

“…(Asteraceae, Eupatorieae) is a small genus of about ten species, comprising shrubs or small trees that play an important role in the Andean ecosystems, from Ecuador to northwestern Argentina and, exceptionally, Brazil and Paraguay [ 21 , 22 ]. They are mostly distributed in different environments of subtropical forests, especially in shrubby layers or secondary forests [ 22 , 23 ]. The native distribution of K. longipetiolata ranges from Bolivia to southern Ecuador, where it occurs in different bioclimatic zones such as sub-humid, pluviseasonal, and mesotropical to dry and xeric, at an altitude ranging from 1000 to 4000 m above sea level [ 22 , 23 ].…”

“…They are mostly distributed in different environments of subtropical forests, especially in shrubby layers or secondary forests [ 22 , 23 ]. The native distribution of K. longipetiolata ranges from Bolivia to southern Ecuador, where it occurs in different bioclimatic zones such as sub-humid, pluviseasonal, and mesotropical to dry and xeric, at an altitude ranging from 1000 to 4000 m above sea level [ 22 , 23 ]. The plant is a very common tree in the province of Loja (Ecuador), where it is used for tracing borders between rural properties [ 21 ].…”

“…R. M. King and H. Rob. are considered two separate accepted species in the list of vascular plants appearing in the World Flora Online, while they have been considered heterotypic synonyms in a recent revision of the genus Kaunia [ 22 , 24 ]. K. longipetiolata is also known by the synonyms of Ageratina longipetiolata (Rusby) R. M. King and H.…”