My work on Monarda mexicana featured in Science Friday

“What is a species?” It’s a forever fun question to grapple with — and it feels especially relevant in light of our recent rediscovery (?) of Monarda mexicana, a species described from just two specimens with poor location information, the most recent of which was collected in 1952.

Read about it here: https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/species-concept-problem-flower-monarda

I am collaborating with folks in Durango, Mexico, who will revisit the iNaturalist location later this fall to collect the plant, so we will know more soon!

The iNaturalist image that made me do a double-take: This doesn’t look like any described Monarda species! A little digging turned up Monarda mexicana, a taxon since lumped with Monarda citriodora var. austromontana, on grounds that the two specimens most likely just represented outlier individuals.