Tag Archives: Alternanthera rigida B. L. Rob. & Greenm.

Blutaparon rigidum (B. L. Rob. & Greenm.) Mears

Santiago Amarant (Blutaparon rigidum)  

This species is known only from two collections that were made in 1905 and 1906 on the Isla Santiago in the Galápagos Islands.

The Santiago Amaranth was very well adapted to the dry habitats of its home island, it was a small profusely and compactly branched shrub and had small, needle-like leaves. [1]

The species disappeared due to the appetite of introduced donkeys, pigs and especially goats, whose numbers on Isla Santiago alone were estimated in 1980 as being as high as 80000 to 100000! [2]

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References:  

[1] I. Loren Wiggins; D. M. Porter; E. F. Anderson: Flora of the Galápagos Islands. Stanford University Press 1971 
[2] F. Cruz; V. Carrion; K. J. Campbell; C. Lavoie; C. J. Donlan: Bio-Economics of Large-Scale Eradication of Feral Goats from Santiago Island, Galápagos. The Journal of Wildlife Management 72(2): 191-200. 2009

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edited: 11.06.2020