SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 15 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
A study recently published in the journal ‘Willdenowia (Annals of the Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum of Berlin)’ in which the University of La Laguna (Paloma Vidal Matutano) participates, has managed to identify a new plant species of the genus Ruta (Rutaceae) presumably extinct Currently in the Canary Islands.
The new plant, described under the name of Ruta museocanariensis, has been identified by studying plant material recovered from the interior of funerary bundles with mummified human remains from the pre-Hispanic period and deposited at the El Museo Canario Scientific Society (Gran Canaria).
The mummified human remains analyzed in this study were recovered in the areas of Acusa and the Barranco de Guayadeque (Gran Canaria) during various expeditions of the 20th century.
The plant material studied had been deposited inside the bundles, wrapping the individuals, by the ancient Canarians during their funeral rites. After an exhaustive study and its comparison with other species of the same genus Ruta conserved in the Herbarium of the Viera y Clavijo Canary Islands Botanical Garden, it has been concluded that it is a different species not found, for the moment, in nature. ; that is, presumably extinct.
This unique finding provides data of great interest to understand how the aboriginal groups of the Canary Islands selected and used plants in their funeral rites. The identification of the use of specific plants in the past, through the archaeological record (such as aboriginal mummies), allows us to approach little-known and generally poorly preserved aspects.
In the pre-Hispanic context of the Canary Islands, this type of study helps us to better understand the degree of knowledge that indigenous communities had of their plant environment, the existence or absence of exchange networks between different groups, and the use of specific plants in practices. sepulchral. In addition, this work suggests interesting aspects about the evolutionary processes of the flora of the Canary Islands.
The only evidence of the new Ruta museocanariensis plant consists of the archaeobotanical remains recovered from the funerary bundles. The authors suggest in their work its possible distribution in the past from the areas of the island where the bundles were recovered and the survival of place names that allude to this plant.
Considering that the name of the plant “ruda” is not of Amazigh origin, the authors suggest that the species did not disappear due to its use during the pre-Hispanic period, but rather survived after the Conquest. The disappearance of this plant from its natural habitat could be part of the acculturation processes carried out during the colonial period.
The work is led by the Viera y Clavijo Canary Islands Botanical Garden, with the collaboration of researchers from the El Museo Canario Scientific Society and the two Canarian public universities.
