Hesperantha sect. Concentricae (Goldblatt, 1982)

Goldblatt, P., Manning, J. C. & van Wyk, P. C. V., 2015, New species, combinations and range extensions in Hesperantha Ker Gawl. (Iridaceae: Crocoideae) from western South Africa *, South African Journal of Botany 98, pp. 114-121 : 115-116

3.1. Key to species of Hesperantha sect. Concentricae for the southern African winter rainfall zone [adapted from Goldblatt (2003)]

Plants with outer floral bract margins free to base; corm with rounded base, usually flattened on one side, and concentric, sometimes splitting into vertical sections tapering to points above (sect. Concentricae):

1a Flowers nodding to ± pendent with perianth tube curved at apex: 2a Leaves finely hairy; main vein and margins raised and thickened, the margins forming wing-like ridges … H. secunda Goldblatt & J.C. Manning 2b Leaves glabrous; main vein and margins only slightly raised, margins thus not winged … Hesperantha bachmannii Baker

1b Flowers erect with straight perianth tube: 3a Plants acaulescent or stem barely extending above ground and sheathed by leaf bases: 4a Flowers white; tepals 8–10(− 12) mm long … Hesperantha hantamensis Schltr. ex R.C. Foster 4b Flowers yellow or pink to red-purple; tepals 13–25 mm long: 5a Flowers yellow; crepuscular, opening at sunset; tepals 13–15 mm long … Hesperantha fl ava G.J. Lewis 5b Flowers pink to red-purple, diurnal, closing at night; tepals 17–25 mm long… Hesperantha humilis Baker 3b Plants with aerial stem: 6a Leaves pilose to scabrid-ciliate on veins and margins, sometimes only microscopically; stems also often sparsely pilose: 7a Leaves pilose to scabrid-ciliate on veins and margins, sometimes visible only microscopically (×10 magnification): 8a Leaves hollow or ± solid and with narrow longitudinal grooves; finely scabrid ciliate along groove edges: 9a Leaves ± round in cross section; flowers white to cream, crepuscular, opening in late afternoon, closing late at night… Hesperantha teretifolia Goldblatt 9b Leaves oval in cross section; flowers pink, mauve, or purple, diurnal, closing in early afternoon … Hesperantha pilosa (L.f.) Ker Gawl.

8b Leaf blade flat, sometimes with margins and main vein somewhat thickened or raised; pilose along sheath and blade margins and veins: 10a Plants dwarf, to 50 mm high with 1(2)-flowered spikes;flowers magenta;leaves sparsely hairy (rarely evidently smooth)… Hesperantha glabrescens Goldblatt 10b Plants mostly at least 100 mm high with spikes usually with>2 flowers; flowers white, blue, magenta or mauve;leaf blades and sheath of third leaf sparsely to densely hairy: 11a Leaves sword-shaped to oblong; scale-like leaf below spike mostly 12–20 mm long, often pilose… Hesperantha pseudopilosa Goldblatt 11b Leaves linear to narrowly sword-shaped; scale-like leaf below spike 3–5(− 10) mm long, usually hairless: 12a Leaf blades usually conspicuously hairy, usually acute; plants of open sandy slopes and flats… H. pilosa (L.f.) Ker Gawl. 12b Leaf blades sparsely hairy (often visible only under hand lens), obtuse; plants of rocky cliffs… Hesperantha malvina Goldblatt

6b Leaves and stems hairless: 13a Flowers predominantly shades of pink, mauve or purple: 14a Perianth tube 20–35 mm long, longer than tepals: 15a Leaves linear, 2–3 mm wide; perianth tube 25–30 mm long and filaments ± 8–10 mm long… Hesperantha oligantha (Diels) Goldblatt 15b Leaves sword-shaped, 7–10 mm wide; perianth tube ± 20 mm long and filaments ± 2 mm long… Hesperantha purpurea Goldblatt 14b Perianth tube 7–17 mm long, usually shorter than to ± as long as or slightly longer than tepals: 16a Basal leaves ovate, 12–20 × 4–8 mm, margins and main vein hardly thickened; stem with short, scale-like leaf in upper part of stem… Hesperantha truncatula Goldblatt 16b Basal leaves sword-shaped to linear or falcate, 40–100 × 2–4 mm: 17a Perianth tube 7–12 mm long; leaf margins and often main vein somewhat to heavily thickened… Hesperantha fi brosa Baker 17b Perianth tube 13–17 mm long; leaf margins and main vein not thickened… Hesperantha namaquana Goldblatt 13b Flowers predominantly white, cream or yellow (excluding pigment on reverse of outer tepals): 18a Perianth tube mostly 16–20 mm long, as long as to slightly longer than tepals; flowers pale yellow… Hesperantha pallescens Goldblatt 18b Perianth tube 3–12(− 17) mm long, shorter than to about as long as tepals; flowers white to creamy white: 19a Plants consistently with 2 basal leaves and a third usually cauline leaf partly to entirely sheathing lower part of stem:

20a Plants tiny, mostly 40–50 mm high; tepals 5–10 mm long; leaves linear, 1–2 mm wide: 21a Tepals 5–6 mm long; leaves linearfiliform, <1 mm wide; plants growing in moss pads in seeps… Hesperantha minima (Baker) R.C. Foster 21b Tepals ± 10 mm long; leaves linear, 1.4–2.0 mm wide; plants growing in crevices in rock outcrops… Hesperantha rupicola Goldblatt & J.C. Manning 20b Plants small to moderate in size, usually at least 100–200 mm high; tepals 8–13 mm long; leaves linear to lanceolate, 1–7 mm wide: 22a Cataphylls dark chestnut brown; sheathing leaf somewhat inflated and quadrangular in section; perianth tube 2–3 mm long; anthers 3–4 mm long… Hesperantha quadrangula Goldblatt 22b Cataphylls pale; sheathing leaf not inflated nor noticeably quadrangular in section; perianth tube 5–12 mm long; anthers 4.5–6 mm long: 23a Perianth tube 6–10 mm long; leaves ± linear, up to 1.5 mm wide, fleshy, somewhat thicker in centre in cross section; plants from Namaqualand… Hesperantha fl exuosa Klatt 23b Perianth tube ± 12 mm long; leaves lanceolate-falcate, 3–6 mm wide, plane and firm, uniformly wide in cross section; plants from western Karoo… H. fi liformis Goldblatt & J.C. Manning

19b Plants mostly with 4 or more leaves, sometimes uppermost ± scale-like: 24a Leaves elliptic to ± rectangular in section and seemingly hollow (interior with large empty parenchyma cells), without thickened margins or main vein… H. rivulicola Goldblatt 24b Leaves ± plane, not hollow, and with main vein and margins slightly thickened: 25a Corms fairly small, mostly 3–8 mm diam.: 26a Stem with a short, sheathing leaf in upper half; outer tepals often red (or brown) on reverse… Hesperantha acuta (Licht. ex Roem. & Schult.) Ker Gawl. 26b Stem without a short, sheathing leaf in upper half; outer tepals usually not strongly pigmented on reverse… Hesperantha erecta (Baker) Benth. ex Baker 25b Corms relatively large, mostly 10–15 mm diam.: 27a Flowers predominantly white (outer tepals often coloured on reverse): 28a Outer tepals usually glossy bright red on reverse (rarely glossy brown) and 1/3 to 1/2 as wide as long; leaves up to half as long as stem; flowers opening 16:00–16:30 (or earlier), then intensely fragrant; plants of well drained open habitats… Hesperantha cucullata Klatt 28b Outer tepals dull grey-brown on reverse with edges white and less than 1/3 as wide as long; leaves reaching at least to base of spike or longer; flowers opening after dark, ±19:00–19:30, then odourless or faintly scented; plants of marshes… H. palustris Goldblatt & J.C. Manning

27b Flowers predominantly or entirely yellow: 29a Plants up to 60 mm tall, sometimes almost acaulescent; tepals ± 20 mm long, uniformly yellow… Hesperantha karooica Goldblatt 29b Plants 120–180 mm tall, with well developed aerial stem; tepals 25–35 mm long, usually marked with dark chocolate brown… Hesperantha vaginata (Sweet) Goldblatt.