96
FIGURE 35.— Known distribution o f A loe neilcrouchii.
Additional specimen exam ined
KWAZULU-NATAL.— 2930 (Durban): between New Hanover and Dalton, (-B C ), 2010-01-05, N.R. Crouch. G.F. Smith <£ /. Johnson
1260 (PRE).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank the following people: Ms Isabel Johnson, KwaZulu-Natal National Botani cal Garden, South African National Biodiversity Insti tute (SANBI), for providing transport, and facilitating access to the site; Ms Hester Steyn, National Herbarium, SANBI. Pretoria, for producing the distribution map; Dr Otto Leistner for providing the Latin diagnosis; Ms Gill Condy, SANBI, Pretoria, for the line drawing; two ref erees for suggesting improvements to the manuscript.
REFERENCES
BERGER. A. 1908. Liliaceae-Asphodeloideae-Aloineae. 8. Aloe L. In A. Engler & K. Prantl, Das Pflanzenreich IV, 38, III, II (Heft 33): 159-326, 329, 330. Engelmann, Leipzig.
CRAIB, C. 2005. Grass aloes o f the South African veld. Umdaus Press, Hatfield, Pretoria.
GLEN, H.F. & HARDY. D.S. 2000. Aloaceae (first part): Aloe. In G. Germishuizen, Flora o f southern Africa, vol. 5, part I, fascicle 1: 1-159. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
KLOPPER, R.R., CHATELAIN, C., BANNINGER, V., HABASHI, C\, STEYN, H.M., DE WET, B.C., ARNOLD, T.H., GAUTIER. L., SMITH, G.F. & SPICHIGER, R. 2006. Checklist o f the flo w er
ing plants o f sub-Saharan Africa. An index o f accepted names and synonyms. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network
Report No. 42: 1-892. SABONET. Pretoria.
LAUBSCHER. N.F. 1973. Aantekeninge oor die Suid-Afrikaanse
Graminialoe Reynolds en Leptoaloe Berger. Aloe 11,1: 4 -9 .
MUCINA, L. & RUTHERFORD, M.C. (eds). 2006. The vegetation o f South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19. South Afri can National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
REYNOLDS, G.W. 1950. Aloes o f South Africa. Aloes o f South Africa Book Fund, Johannesburg.
SMITH, G.F. 2003. Aloe craibii Gideon F.Sm. (Asphodelaceae: Alooi-deae): a new species o f grass aloe from the Barberton Centre o f Endemism, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Bradleya 21: 2 5 -2 8 . SMITH, G.F. 2005. The fascinating world o f the grass aloes o f South
Africa. In C. Craib, Grass aloes o f the South African veld: v iii-ix. Umdaus Press, Hatfield, Pretoria.
VAN JAARSVELD, E.J. & VAN WYK, A.E. 2006. Aloe challisii, a new cliff-dwelling aloe from Mpumalanga, and a checklist o f the obligate cliff-dwelling aloes in South Africa and Namibia.
Aloe 43: 3 6-41.
VAN WYK, B-E. & SMITH, G.F. 2004. Guide to the aloes o f South
Africa, edn 2. Briza Publications, Pretoria.
R.R. KLOPPER* and G.F. SMITH*
* Biosystematics Research and Biodiversity Collections Division, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Private Bag X 10I, 0001 Pretor ia. E-mail: R.KIopper(a sanbi.org.za; G .S m ith s sanbi.org.za.
Acocks Chair, H.G.W.J. Schweickerdt Herbarium, Department o f Plant Science, Univ ersity o f Pretoria, 0002 Pretoria.
MS. received: 2009-09-17.
BRUNIACEAE
NEW SPECIES OF THAMXEA AND BRUNIA FROM W ESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA
The Bruniaceae is one o f the 33 ‘Cape floral clades’ (Linder 2003) mainly distributed in the Western Cape, South Africa. Since the revision published by Pillans (1947), much work has been done to understand the inter generic relationships and biology o f the family (ClaBen- Bockhoff, in press). Based on molecular and morphologi cal data, a new classification has been proposed accepting
six o f the formerly 12 genera (ClaBen-Bockhoflf et al. in
press). With the two newly described species in the present paper, there are currently 79 species in the family.
Thamnea matroosbergensis A. V.Hall, sp. nov.
Fruticulus humilis usque ad 0.3 m altus; foliis 0 .8 -1.0 (-l .2) mm longis spiraliter insertis ellipticis sessilibus, pagina laterali paulo discoidea pagina abaxiali profunde carinata castanea. Inflorescentia flore solitario sessili ad apicem ramorum principalium vel in ramis lateralibus. Flores bracteis 6-10 usque ad 2 mm longis: sepalis libe- ris 1.7-2.1 mm longis; petalis ± 25 mm longis, albidis.
limbis late obovatis obtusis patentibus; staminibus 1.5- 2.1 mm longis, antheris 0.9 mm longis; nectario annu- lari viridi 0.1 mm alto; ovario uniloculari. placenta libera centrali, ovulis 4 -8 pendulis; stylo supeme contracto; fructu 1.8 mm longo, ellipsoideo, castaneo, tholo umbo- nato longo terminanti.
TYPE.— Western Cape, 3319 (Worcester): Worces ter Dist.; SE slopes o f Matroosberg, (-B C ), 5000-6000'
[1 520-1 830 m], 18 November 1962, Esterhuysen
29877 (BOL, holo.). Figure 36.
Sprawling shrublets, up to 0.3 m high; no coppice shoots or lignotuber recorded; distal branching dense to diffuse, main lateral branches spreading rather widely from main axis, fairly evenly dispersed along it; leaves obscuring more densely branched stems; young stems
ridged, glabrous, older stems almost smooth. Leaves spi
rally arranged, elliptic, 0.8— 1.0( — 1.2) mm long, sessile
Bothalia 40,1 (2010) 97
FIGURE 36.— H olotype o f Thamnea m atm osbergen sis, Esterhuvsen
2 9 8 7 7 { BOL).
rather discoid with base curving abruptly into stem, abax- ial surface strongly keeled (Figure 37B), flat or slightly channelled between keel and leaf margin, surfaces glossy brown, glabrous; margins hyaline; stipules absent; stomata
on abaxial side only (Figure 37A, B). B ud le a f colleter
incurved, broadly triangular-acute (Figure 37B), semi- terete, 0.1 mm long, dark brown, lost from older leaves.
Inflorescence: flowers solitary (Figure 38A), sessile at ends o f main branches, some on 1-22 mm long side branches no different from leafy vegetative stems, terminal flower opening from before to later than those on side branches;
old receptacles and bracts not persistent. Involucral bracts
6-1 0 , up to 2 mm long, lower leaf-like but with a rapid transition distally to w ider laminae, upper ovate, obtuse but with a dark apiculus, rather hard-textured, distally
shortly ciliate. Floral receptacle ± 0.2 mm long, glabrous,
finely ribbed, transition to calyx with a slight indentation
(Figure 37C). Sepals free, lanceolate, 1.7-2.1 mm long,
acute, imbricate, keeled, term inating in a hyaline to brown
tip, distally ciliate. Petals ± 2.5 mm long, white, weakly
clawed; limb broadly obovate obtuse, spreading; 2 narrow ridges along the prom inent m idrib near base o f adaxial
surface. Stamens 1.5-2.1 mm long; anthers 0.9 mm long
(Figure 37C), distally lunate; pollen 3-colporate (Figure
37E). Flower scent not recorded. Nectarostomata present
around upper edge o f ovary (Figure 37D). O vary 2/3 infe
rior, 1-locular with free central axile placenta bearing 4 -8 pendulous ovules at apex; style 0.6-0.9 times as long as
sepals, tapering; stigma capitate (Figure 37C). Fruit ellip
soid, 1.8 mm long, distal end with short umbonate dome, red-brown, shallowly sulcate, glabrous; style-base persist
ent, broadly convex. Flowering tim e: Novem ber to April.
D iagnostic fe a tu re s: Thamnea matroosbergensis is
sim ilar to T. thesioides D um m er and T. uniflora (L.) Sol.
ex Brongn., both belonging to different subclades within the genus (Q uint & ClaGen-Bockhoff 2006). It differs
from T. thesioides in having a longer style (1 .3 -1 .6 mm
long vs 0.7 mm long in T. thesioides); stam ens alm ost
as long as the sepals; a style o f alm ost double the length
(1 .3 -1 .6 mm vs 0.7 mm in T. thesioides) and a convex
dom e at the fruit apex. It differs from T. uniflora in hav
ing longer sepals (1.7-2.1 mm vs 1.2-1.4 mm in T. uni
flora); a sem i-inferior instead o f an inferior ovary and in lacking a hairy fruit with a nectary rim on its top. The m aterial is clearly distinct enough to w arrant recognition at species level, although the extrem ely small size o f the m ain organs will require careful analysis for identifica tion. It is rem arkably constant in the three collections from the site except that one shoot is taller and more dif fuse, but in other respects they are identical.
D istribution a n d ecology: Thamnea m atroosbergen
sis has seldom been collected and is known from a sin
gle area, the steep, rocky southeast-facing slopes o f the M atroosberg in the Hex River M ountains, from 1 500 to 1 800 m (Figure 39). This site lies 35 km east from
the locality o f T. thesioides in the Ceres area, but is at a
rather higher altitude.
A dditional m aterial exam ined
W ESTERN CAPE.— 3319 (Worcester): Matroosberg, amongst boulders, S side o f ‘Coat o f A rm s’ Rock, ± 6000' [1 830 m], 19-01-1959, E sterhuvsen 2 8 1 5 0 (BOL); ibid., rocks on SE slope, 5 0 0 0 -6000' [1 5 20-1 830 m], 7-04-1959, Esterhuysen 277 1 0 (BOL).
B ru n ia c o m p a c ts A. V H all, sp. nov.
Frutex patens usque ad ± 0.5 m altus basiram ifer, ram ificatio distali densa; foliis 2 .7 -3 .2 mm longis, usque ad 4.8 mm longis in sirculis rapide crescentibus, lanceo- latis acutis, sessilibus, abrupte ex caulibus crescentibus; abaxialiter villosis m inus adaxialiter. Inflorescentia flori- bus in capitulis densis term inalibus, 3 -4 mm latis, race- m osis; axe principali per anthesin non crescendi, axibus ulterioribus novis sym podialibus. Flores bractea 0 .6-0.8 mm longa, arete appressa, ovata, dense villosa; bracteo- lis dense villosis; receptaculis florum 0 .6 -0 .8 mm longis; sepalis ± 1 .1 mm longis, anguste deltoideis acum inatis, abaxialiter villosis, dense ciliatis; corolla alba, petalis liberis 0 .6 -1 .2 mm longis, ellipticis, abaxialiter villosis; stam inibus ± 0.8 mm longis, distaliter incurvatis; ovario sem i-infero, ± 0.7 mm longo, biloculari, utroque loculo ovulo unico pendulo; nectario absenti; stylis duobus 0 .9
-1.3 mm longis, leviter connatis, distaliter recurvatis.
TY PE.— Western Cape, 3219 (Clanw illiam ): Ceres Dist., G ideon’s Kop, S Cederberg, Sandfontein area, ( -
CB), 4 5 0 0 -5 0 0 0 ’ [1 370-1 520 m], 25 Oct. 1966, Ester
huysen 31628 (BOL, holo.). Figure 40.
Shrubs spreading, up to 0.5 m high, branched at base.
cop-Bothalia 40,1 (2010)
Bothalia 40,1 (2010) 99
;
■
m
.
I
FIGURE 38.— Flowering branchlets. A, Thamnea m atroosber gensis; B, Brunia com pacta.
Scale bars: 1 mm. Artist: D. Franke, Mainz).
pice shoots. D istal branching dense, lateral branches close
to main axis, somewhat clustered at nodal zones with
fewer branches in between. Young stems usually hidden by
leaves, lacking decurrent ridges, tomentose distally, with older shoots pale brown when dried; old leafless stems dark grey-brown, smooth, with scattered leaf scars; stip
ules absent. Leaves lanceolate (Figure 41 A, B), 2.7-3.2
mm long, up to 4.8 mm in fast-growing coppice shoots, acute, sessile, appearing abruptly from stem, lamina from side basally appressed to stem then gradually curving slightly away, increasingly so throughout its length; adax ial surface slightly concave and basally keeled, abaxial surface smoothly rounded, abaxially villous (Figure 41 B), adaxially less so (Figure 41 A), older leaves glabrescent, in coppice shoots more densely villous; stomata only on
adaxial surface (Figure 41C). B ud le a f colleter as a brown,
erect papilla 0.2 mm long, soon broadening slightly and
darkening to form a black deltoid apiculus shrinking to
a minute patch in older leaves. Inflorescence with 6-1 0
flowers in terminal, dense clusters (Figure 38B), 3—4 mm wide, main axis not continuing growth during anthesis,
TYPE
FIGURE 39.— Known distribution o f Thamnea m atroosbergensis, • ; FIGURE 4 0.— H olotypc o f Brunia com pacta, Esterhuvsen 31628
Bothalia 40,1 (2010)
101
further branching sym podial with one new dom inant shoot, old inflorescence peduncles persistent as braete-
ate, villous structures am ong older branches. Bract sub
tending each flow er closely appressed, ovate, 0.6 -0.8 mm long, m idrib not visible, densely villous, with a black apiculus; bracteoles 2, oblanceolate, navicular,
black-tipped, densely villous. F loral receptacle 0.6 0.8
mm long, with transition to calyx lacking a constric
tion. ( alyx tube vestigial, segm ents narrow ly deltoid, ±
1.1 mm long, acum inate, separated by a broadly obtuse gap. abaxially villous, densely ciliate, lacking a m idrib,
hyaline with m inute dark apiculus. Corolla white, pet
als tree from stam ens, elliptic, 0.6 1.2 mm long, erect to spreading, abaxially villous, adaxial surface with a thick
cushion-like sw elling lying against top o f ovary. Sta
mens ± 0.8 mm long, distally incurved; anthers 0.2 111111
long, lobes parted and slightly divergent below ; pollen
(4)5-colporate (F igure 4 IF). O vary ha If-inferior, ± 0.7
mm long, top villous w ith single nectarostom ata (Figure 41 D, E); locules 2, wall betw een com plete at anthesis, each bearing a pendulous ovule on one o f tw o placentas in each loculus; styles 0.9—1.3 m m long, slightly adnate, distally curved to point term inal stigm as into a lateral
position. F ruit with enlarged receptacle and shrivelled
flow er parts attached; seed ovoid, 1.3 x 0.8 111111, brow n,
transversely w rinkled, lacking an elaiosom e. F low ering
tim e: January, A pril. May, A ugust and O ctober.
D iagnostic features'. B runia co m p a cta differs from B. sacculata (K irchner ex Pi I Ians) C lass.-B ockh. & E.G.H.
Oliv. in having hairs on the adaxial le a f side, from B.
m icrophylla Tliunb. in having larger leaves (2 .4 -2 .8 111111
instead o f 1.2 2.4 mm in B. m icrophylla) and from B.
squalida E.Mey. ex Sond. in having distally recurved instead o f erect styles. W ith the second group it shares the very short petals (sh o rter than 1.5 m m ) appearing in
all species so far included in this group. H erein, B. co m
pacta is very sim ilar to B. hullata (Schltr.) C lass.-B ockh. & E.G.H.Oliv. differing in having 6 10 instead o f only 1 ( 3 ) flowers per inflorescence. T hough the relationships are not clear, the species is p relim inarily grouped under
Brunia subgen. M niotham nea.
The species varies w ithin the collections in having fast-growing coppice shoots am ong the norm al ones,
as in Esterhuvsen 3 2 /6 0 (B O F ). T hese have longer and
more densely villous leaves, and less profuse branching.
D istribution a n d ecology: Brunia compacta has been collected in the southern Cedarberg and Cold Bokkeveld M ountains, north o f Ceres, at altitudes from 1 200 to
1 500 111 (Figure 39). At one o f its localities it is recorded
as not com m on but widespread in the area (Apollo Peak,
southern Cedarberg: Esterhuvsen 32160). The shrubs
occur am ong rocks, large boulders and cliffs on upper slopes. After fires the species reproduces from seedlings.
Note: this new species was at first recorded as one
belonging in the genus Raspalia Brongn., but according
to the new classification o f the family (ClaBen-Bockhoff
et al. in press), it must be placed in the genus Brunia Lam.
under which Raspalia is being placed in synonymy based
on m olecular analyses (Quint & ClaBen-Bockhoff 2006).
A dditional m aterial exam ined
WEST LRN CAPE.— 3219 (Clanwilliam): Clanwilliam, Apollo Peak, S Cederberg, on S side at hase o f massive rock or cl ill's, 4000-5000' [1 520 m], (-C A ), 17-05-1%9, Esterhuvsen 32160 (BOL); Clanwil liam. Kaffirkop [KatYerskop], suurvlakte, S Cederberg, amongst boulders on upper slopes, (-C A ), 17-04-1976, Esterhuvsen 34250 (BOL); Ceres, central peak o f Schurweberg above ‘Excelsior’ N o f Bokkeveld Tafel-berg, amongst rocks on SW side o f rocky summit, 4X00' (?) [1 460 m], ( - ( D ) , 15-08-1971, Esterhuvsen 32619 (BOL); Ceres, Schurweberg Peak (between Bokkeveld Sneeuberg and Bokkeveld Tafelberg) amongst rocks, 4500’ [1 370 m], (-C D ), 1-01-1962, Esterhuvsen 29432 (BOL).
REFERENCES
CLABEN-BOCKHOFF, R. in press. Bruniaceae. In J.W. Kadereit & V. Bittrich. The fam ilies a n d gen era o f vascular plan ts, vol. 10. CLABEN-BOCKHOFF, R„ OLIVER, E.G.H., HALL, A.V. & QUINT,
M. in press. N ew classification o f the Bruniaceae based on molecular and morphological data. Taxon.
LINDER, IIP. 2003. The radiation o f the Cape flora, southern Africa.
B iological R eview 78: 59 7 -6 3 8 .
PI LI. A N S, N.S. 1947. A revision o f Bruniaceae. Journal o f South Afri
can Botany 13: 121-206.
QUINT, M. & CLABEN-BOCKHOFF, R. 2006. Phylogeny o f Bru niaceae based on m atK and ITS sequence data. International
Jou rn al o f P lan t Science 167: 135-146.
A.V. HALL*. E.G.H. OLIVER** and R. CLABEN-BOCKHOFF***
* Formerly: Bolus Herbarium, University o f Cape Town. Present ad dress: Helderberg Village, Private Bag X 19, 7125 Somerset West. ** Department o f Botany & Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X I, 7602 Matieland, Stellenbosch.
*** Institut fur Spezielle Botanik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat, M ain/, Germany.
MS. received: 2008-10-16.
PTER ID O PH Y TA : POLYPODIACEAE
THE STATUS OF x P L E O P O D IU M IN AFRICA
A widepread central and southern A frican taxon almost
intermediate between Pleopeltis m acrocarpa (Bory ex
Willd.) K aulf and Pleopeltis polypodioides (L.) E.G.
Andrews & W indham subsp. ecklonii (K unze) J.P.Roux
was shown convincingly by A nthony & Schelpe (1985) to arise from the hybridization o f these two polypods. As
at that time, Pleopeltis polypodioides subsp. ecklonii was
referred to the genus P olypodium I... these authors neces
sarily established the hybrid genus x Pleopodium Schelpe
& N.C.A nthony to accom m odate their putative hybrid, x Pleopodium sim ianum Schelpe & N.C.Anthony. Roux
(2001) estimated that ± 10 such x Pleopodium taxa are
known from the neotropics, with only one recorded for Africa (Roux 2009). We have been able to trace only five
validly published x Pleopodium taxa worldwide (Anthony
& Schelpe 1985; Mickel & Beitel 1987).
Follow ing the transfer in Windham (1993) o f the typi
cal (neotropical) subspecies o f Polvpodium polypodioi
des (L.) Watt to Pleopeltis Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.,
Roux (2009) provided a new com bination for the Afri
