Post by Surroundx on Apr 26, 2018 13:21:03 GMT 1
"The plant is known only by its scientific name, Asteriscium novarae. It was first collected in 1994 by two francophone botanists (André Charpin and Jean-Jacques Lazare) as they traveled along Ruta (or route) 33, a narrow country road that passes through the pre-puna, a rocky ecosystem of cacti and scrubby shrubs at the foot of the Andes. They later sent a dried herbarium specimen of this plant to Dr. Lincoln Constance, a retired Berkeley professor, who recognized it instantly as a new species, but the publication of the name took place only after Dr. Constance’s death in 2001.
In the meantime, Dr. Charpin attempted to find the plant again in 1999, and Professor Novara made the same attempt two more times, all with no success. It seems that a major effort to improve transportation in the region had transformed Ruta 33 from a little country road into a major four-lane divided highway. When we met Novara on our trip to Salta, he relayed to us the bad news: “Asteriscium novarae is extinct.” We were crushed, but we persuaded him that two “experts” of the Umbelliferae like ourselves might be able to locate what he and others had missed. The next morning, we all ventured out from Salta la Linda to the field site, a grueling drive of some six hours through winding mountain passes with terrifying curves and then over desolate desert flats. We finally arrived at the site of the original collection and spent hours scouring the rocky hills in search of the elusive plant. As the sun set, we lost hope. The engineers had destroyed the habitat and the plant was nowhere to be found. We returned empty-handed to Salta, retracing the terrifying trek in the dark."
Source: www.nybg.org/blogs/science-talk/2014/07/rediscovering-an-extinct-carrot/
In the meantime, Dr. Charpin attempted to find the plant again in 1999, and Professor Novara made the same attempt two more times, all with no success. It seems that a major effort to improve transportation in the region had transformed Ruta 33 from a little country road into a major four-lane divided highway. When we met Novara on our trip to Salta, he relayed to us the bad news: “Asteriscium novarae is extinct.” We were crushed, but we persuaded him that two “experts” of the Umbelliferae like ourselves might be able to locate what he and others had missed. The next morning, we all ventured out from Salta la Linda to the field site, a grueling drive of some six hours through winding mountain passes with terrifying curves and then over desolate desert flats. We finally arrived at the site of the original collection and spent hours scouring the rocky hills in search of the elusive plant. As the sun set, we lost hope. The engineers had destroyed the habitat and the plant was nowhere to be found. We returned empty-handed to Salta, retracing the terrifying trek in the dark."
Source: www.nybg.org/blogs/science-talk/2014/07/rediscovering-an-extinct-carrot/
