Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Scalesia crockeri Howell

lechoso, crocker's scalesia

Pollen grain of Scalesia crockeri Howell (scanning electron micrograph). Photo: Patricia Jaramillo Díaz & M. Mar Trigo, CDF, 2011.
Pollen grain of Scalesia crockeri Howell (scanning electron micrograph). Photo: Patricia Jaramillo Díaz & M. Mar Trigo, CDF, 2011.

Low rounded shrub. Scalesia crockeri and S. aspera are similar, with the most obvious differences being the broadly winged petiole and more glandular leaves in S. crockeri (Lindhardt et al., 2009).

Found on bluffs and lava crevices, mostly near the shore, but up to 1 km inland at Cerro Colorado. It grows singly or in small, often widely separated groups.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)

Order
Asterales

Family
Asteraceae

Genus
Scalesia

Species
crockeri

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Endemic

Status

Vulnerable

Distribution

Distribution: Species restricted to lava spills and cliffs at Baltra Island, North Seymour and NE Santa Cruz.

References

  • Bisconti, M. Landini, W., Bianucci, G., Cantalamessa, G., Carnevale, G. Ragaini, L. & Valleri, G. (2001) Biogeographic relationships of the Galapagos terrestrial biota: parsimony analyses of endemicity based on reptiles, land birds and Scalesia land plants. J. Biogeogr. 28: 495-510.
  • De Vries, T. Tupiza, A. (1987) Las dinámicas de Scalesia cordata (Asteraceae)en diferentes habitats de Sierra Negra, Isla Isabela, Galápagos Memorias. Investigacion Botánica y Manejo en Galápagos. Pg. 154-165
  • Eliasson, U. (1974) Studies in Galapagos Plants. XIV. The Genus Scalesia Arn. Opera Botanica 36: 1-117.
  • Eliasson, U. (1970) Studies in Galápagos Plants VIII: Cromosome Numbers of Some Endemic Species. Botaniska Notiser 123: 149-154.
  • Howell, J.T. (1941) The genus Scalesia. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. Series 4, 22: 221-271.
  • Itow, S. (1997) List of Plant Specimens collected in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Natural Science, 38 (1): 53-144.
  • Jaramillo, P. Trigo, M. M. (2006) Pollen morphology of the Galapagos endemic genus Scalesia Arn. (Asteraceae). Noticias de Galápagos 64: 26-30.
  • Jørgensen, P.M. León-Yánez, S. (eds.) (1999) Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 75. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, 1181 pp.
  • León-Yánez, S. Valencia, R., N. Pitman, L. Endara, C. Ulloa Ulloa & H. Navarrete (2011) Libro rojo de las plantas endémicas del Ecuador. 2 da. Edición. Publicaciones del Herbario QCA, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito. Pp. 957.
  • McMullen, C.K. (1999) Flowering plants of the Galapagos. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 370 pp.
  • Porter, D.M. (1983) Vascular Plants of the Galapagos: Origins and Dispersal. In: Bowman, R.I., Berson, M. & Leviton, A.E. (eds.): Patterns of evolution in Galápagos organisms. Pacific Division, AAAS, San Francisco, California, p. 33-96.
  • Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
  • Valencia, R. Pitman, N., León-Yánez, S. & Jørgensen, P.M. (2000) Libro Rojo de las Plantas Endémicas del Ecuador. Herbario QCA, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. Ecuador 2000 i–iv, 1–489.
  • Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Scalesia crockeri", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=345. Accessed 31 October 2026.