Romulea subfistulosa M.P. de Vos

Manning, John C. & Goldblatt, Peter, 2001, the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra including new species, biological notes, and a new infrageneric classification, Adansonia (3) 23 (1), pp. 59-108 : 104

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5180119
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A7676A-FFDF-1E1D-81C6-FDEA02668A61
treatment provided by	Carolina
scientific name	Romulea subfistulosa M.P. de Vos
status

Treatment

71. Romulea subfistulosa M.P. de Vos View in CoL

Ann. Univ. Stellenbosch 28 A, 3: 66 (1952); J. S.

African Bot., Suppl. 9: 275 (1972); Fl. S. Africa 7(2),

fasc. 2: 67 (1983). — Type: Joubert & de Vos 1585,

South Africa, Northern Cape, near Sutherland (holo-,

NBG!).

Romulea vanzyliae M.P. de Vos, J. S. View in CoL African Bot., Suppl. 9: 284 (1972) as x vanzyliae View in CoL ; Fl. S. Africa 7(2), fasc. 2: 70 (1983). — Type: van Zyl s. n., South African Northern Cape, without precise locality, cultivated in Cape Town (holo-, BOL 24349!; iso-, PRE!); syn. nov.

Plants 10-25 cm high, stem subterranean; corm rounded at base with curved acuminate teeth. Leaves 4-9, basal, curved, somewhat spongy, broadly 4-grooved and almost winged, 2-5 mm diam.; outer bracts keeled above with narrow membranous margins, inner bracts 2-keeled with colorless or speckled membranous margins. Flowers pink with dark blotches at the edge of a yellow cup, unscented, tepals obovate, 25-50 mm long; filaments 4-6 mm long, anthers 8-11 mm long. Fruiting peduncles recurved at first, later suberect. Flowering: Aug.-Oct.

Romulea subfistulosa occurs on dolerite flats in the western karoo between Calvinia and Sutherland on the Roggeveld Escarpment. It is readily recognized by the fairly thick, almost fleshy, falcate leaves with wide longitudinal grooves and the magenta-pink flowers with a yellow cup, edged with black and lightly blackstreaked in the cup.

Romulea vanzyliae was first described as a naturally occurring hybrid between R. subfistulosa and R sabulosa . It differs from the former only in the shape of the markings in the flower, a large black blotch at the base of each tepal, but this is most likely merely a minor local variant of the typical R. subfistulosa that occurs to the south along the Roggeveld escarpment and we reduce R. vanzyliae to synonymy here.