The Id entity of Bulbinella carnosa
The South African species of Bulbinella are confined to the south-western Cape, An exception appeared to be B. carnosa (Bak.) Bak. which was originally described as Anthericum carnosum Bak. (Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) 15 : 296, 1876) but which he subsequently transferred to Bulbinella (FI. Cap. 6 : 358, 1896). It was based on a specimen collected by Gerrard & McKen 1890 (K, holo., NH) from Natal, from damp rocks between the rivers Umzinto and Ifafa.
I regard these binomials as synonyms of Ornithogalum paludosum Bak. (J. Bot., Lond. 12 : 366, 1874), a species which at times forms an atypical rootsystem. Possibly due to a marshy habitat no firm bulb is formed, only a scaly swollen base.
Other synonyms include O. gracilentum Bak. (1897), O. ebulbe Schltr. (1907) and
Anthericum quadrifidum Poelln. (1942).
Bulbinella burkei Benth., which is also recorded from the summer rainfall area
in the Flora Capensis, has been transferred to Trachyandra burkei (Benth.) Oberm. (Bothalia 7 : 721, 1962).
A. A. Obermeyer The Identity of Fritillaria n a n a
In Baileya 13 : 7 (1965) Ingram made the combination Whiteheadia nana based on Fritillaria nana Burm.f. (^Prodr. FI. Cap. 9, 1768). This name has priority over
Whiteheadia bifolia (Jacq.) Bak. (J. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) 13 : 226, 1873) since the latter
is based on Eucomis bifolia Jacq. (Collect. 4 : 215, 1790). The type of the Burmann species (Plate 4) was kindly sent on loan to me by the Director of the Delessert Her barium, Geneva. I was thus able to establish that it is a species of Eucomis and not
Whiteheadia. Therefore the solitary Whiteheadia species retains the binomial W.
bifolia (Jacq.) Bak., while Fritillaria nana was correctly placed under Eucomis by
L’Heritier as E. nana (Burm.f.) L’Herit.
A. A. Obermeyer
MELASTOMACEAE
While naming a specimen from Port Shepstone, Natal {Strey 5888), it was noted that Memecylon australe Gilg & Schltr. in Bot. Jahrb. 40: 94 (1908), from Natal, appears to be the same species as M. grandiflorum R. & A. Fernandes in Bol. Soc. Brot. 29 : 63 (1955), based on Galpin 9568 from the Lusikisiki district. It so happens that the former name is an illegitimate homonym, being antedated by M. australe F. Muell. ex Triana (1871) and M. australe C. Moore (1893), thus M. grandiflorum R. & A. Fernandes is the correct name for the species when the two entities are brought together in one circumscription.
In this species it is found that the leaves vary from rotund (as described by R. & A. Fernandes) to broadly elliptical, acute at apex and cuneate at the base (as described by Gilg and Schlechter).
H. Badenhorst
RUBIACEAE
A New Species of Canthium
Canthium suberosum Codd, sp. nov., a C. ventoso (L.) S. Moore foliis ellipticis vel oblanceolatis, inflorescentiis subsessilibus differt.
Frutex vel arbuscula 3-6 m alta omnino glaber, inermis; ramuli ad nodos incras- sati; cortex demum suberosus. Folia opposita, 2-4 mm longe petiolata, glauca,
cuneata, apice obtusa vel rotundata. Cymae axillares, subfasciculatae, 1-4-florae,
pedunculo 0-2 mm longo, pedicellis 2-4 mm longis. Calyx breviter 5-denticulatus.
Corolla parvula, tubo 2 mm longo, lobis 5, oblongo-ovatis, 3 mm longis, reflexis,
margine papilloso. Antherae 5, breviter exsertae. Ovarium ovoideum, 3-loculare,
loculis uniovulatis; stylus exsertus, 4 mm longus; stigma capitatum, 3-lobatum.
Fructus drupaceus, circa 1 cm longus, plerumque lobatus, nigrescens, seminibus 1-3.
Type: Transvaal, Heidelberg Kloof, Mogg 20473 (PRE, holo.).
Shrub or small tree 3-6 m high, entirely glabrous, unarmed; branchlets conspi cuously swollen at the nodes; bark grey, powdery on young branchlets, becoming corky on older trunks. Leaves opposite, with petioles 2-4 mm long, glaucous, leathery, elliptic to oblanceolate, 3*5-7 cm long, 1-4-3-5 cm broad, entire, cuneate at the base, apex obtuse to rounded. Inflorescence axillary, subfasciculate, consisting of 1-4-
flowered cymes; peduncle 0-2 mm long, hidden by the stipules; pedicels 2-4 mm long.
Calyx shortly 5-toothed, teeth about 0-5 mm long. Corolla small; tube 2 mm long;
lobes 5, oblong-ovate, 3 mm long, margin papillate, especially at the tip which is thickened and curved inwards, ultimately reflexed. Anthers 5, shortly exserted, oblong, apex acute; filaments short and broad, inserted just below the throat of the corolla.
Ovary ovoid, 3-locular, with one descending ovule in each locule; style exserted, 4 mm
long, glabrous, broadest at the base; stigma capitate, 3-lobed; disc slightly raised, sticky. Fruit drupaceous, about 1 cm long, more or less oblong, usually lobed when 2 or 3 seeds develop, black when mature, 1-3-seeded.
Found on wooded, rocky hillsides, usually in kloofs or along dry water-courses, associated with quartzite or granite formations on the central Transvaal plateau region, with outliers in western Swaziland.
T r a n s v a a l . —Brits: Jacksonstuin, Codd 6804; Van Wyk 267; M ogg 23538; Van Vuuren 275.
Heidelberg: Kloof, 20473. Krugersdurp: H e k p o o r t , 456. Pietersburg: Molepo Reserve,
30 miles E. of Pietersburg, Gerstner 5346; 5565; Wolkberg, 12 miles S.E. of Boyne, Codd 10399. Rustenburg: Castle Gorge, Meeiise 9257. Waterberg: Geelhoutkop, M ogg 24495.
S w a z i l a n d . —Hlatikulu, Compton 28157.
C. suberosum is allied to C. ventosum (L.) S. Moore, of which C. inerme (L.f.) Kuntze is regarded as a synonym, but differs in several respects. C. ventosum shows a tendency to be scandent with longish internodes and spine-like branchlets, and the bark on the older twigs is smooth and longitudinally wrinkled, somewhat waxy and not powdery or corky, while the bark on the main trunk never becomes thickly corky; the leaves are more or less ovate, in outline, obtuse at the base and acute to acuminate at the apex and are relatively thin in texture; and the inflorescence is usually branched and many-flowered.
C. suberosum, on the other hand, is never scandent, but has thickish, brittle branches with shorter internodes and more conspicuously thickened nodes; the bark on the older twigs is scurfy, cracking into a more or less rectangular network while on the main trunk the bark often becomes conspicuously corky with age; the leaves are elliptic to oblanceolate-obovate in shape, cuneate at the base and obtuse to rounded at the apex, greyish and relatively thick in texture; and the inflorescences are few- flowered and subsessile.
There is also a difference in distribution with C. ventosum scattered from the Cape Peninsula, through the eastern Cape Province, Natal, Swaziland and the eastern and northern Transvaal to Rhodesia and Mozambique, while C. suberosum is essentially a species of the wooded quartzite and granite formations of the central Transvaal plateau, with outliers in western Swaziland.
L. E. Co d d
R’stticu c o ita h vrtf iww«l*vulu(aT6 linfUrs
Cath^al^kfomi InHucncfs Hcjcarcn btfi
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rw D K.lkk J
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Pl a t e 1.—Festuca costata Nees var. longiligulata J. G. Anders. (Killick 3510, holotype, PRE).
348
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A-o itf j x / / f N.-PR K No.
KH ». f.-N.
350
