Ficinia swartruggensis Muasya & C.H.Stirt., 2022

Muasya, A. Muthama & Stirton, Charles H., 2022, Three new species in the genus Ficinia (Cyperaceae, tribe Cypereae) from the Greater Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, Phytotaxa 550 (3), pp. 287-294 : 292-294

Ficinia swartruggensis Muasya & C.H.Stirt. , sp. nov. ( Fig. 5 )

Diagnosis:— Ficinia swartruggensis is morphologically most similar to F. bulbosa ( Linnaeus, 1771: 178) Nees (1833: 91) in having a tufted habit and spicate inflorescence, but differs in lacks the bulbous culm bases and a spike shortly contracted (vs. lax) with rachis of spikelet heads <2 mm long (vs.> 5 mm long).

Type:— SOUTH AFRICA. Western Cape Province. Wuppertal: Ceres Karoo , Kagga Kamma , near mast, 32°51’14.2”S 19°38’00.9”E, 1 October 2009, A.M. Muasya, I. Jardine & C.H. Stirton 4601 (holotype BOL!, isotypes NBG!, PRE!) .

Perennial, caespitose, tufts above 5 cm diameter, no visible rhizome. Culms 125–230 mm tall, 0.4–0.6 mm thick, ca. 1.6 mm thick across the rim/edge of the leaf sheath, glabrous. Leaf sheath 19–46 mm long, reddish brown at base, papery and white at apex, ligule ca. 4 mm long. Leaf blade 20–65× 0.3–0.6 mm, canaliculate, glabrous, margin minutely scabrid. Involucral bracts 3–5, leaf-like and lowermost partially sheathing spikelets, 8–27 mm long. Inflorescence a contracted spike comprising 2–3 spikelet heads separated by a rachis up to 2 mm long, lower cluster comprising 1–2 spikelets, upper cluster 3–5 spikelets; each spikelet cluster subtended by an involucral bract with auricular lobes. Spikelets 3.6–6.0× 1.8–2.3 mm, terete, reddish brown, florets bisexual. Glumes 2.8–4.1 mm long, ovate with a mucro up to 0.6 mm long; margins entire. Stamens 3; anthers 1.4–2.3 mm long, crested. Style trifid, 2.1–3.5 mm long. Nutlets 1.5–1.9×0.7–1.0 mm, dark brown, smooth to minutely papillose, gynophore 3–5-lobbed.

Distribution and ecology: —Occurs in the Northern and Western Cape Provinces ( Fig. 2 ). It is found at elevations between 1200–2000 m in arid fynbos on sandstone (sandy, rocky) substrate.

Etymology: — The epithet swartruggensis refers to the region where the type specimens and the majority of known populations are located.

Conservation status: —This species is localized in the Swartruggens and extends into the Northern Cape, though is probably under collected and in areas that are not under disruptive land use practices. Therefore, we consider it to be of Least Concern (LC) based on the IUCN (2022) criteria.

Additional specimens studied: — SOUTH AFRICA. Northern Cape Province. Calvinia: Karreehout River south of Perdekloof (3119DD), 21 August 1975, M.F. Thompson 2525 ( BOL) . Sutherland: Geelhoek (3220BC), 27 August 1953, J.P.H. Acocks 16981 ( PRE) ; turnoff to De Plaat Farm (3220DC), 14 September 1986, A.C. Fellingham 1195 ( NBG, PRE) . Western Cape Province. Wuppertal: Swartruggens, Knolfontein (3219DC), 13 April 2011, I. Jardine 1550 ( BOL) ; 17 August 2011, I. Jardine 1556 ( BOL) ; 30 September 2009, A.M. Muasya, I. Jardine & C.H. Stirton 4593 ( BOL) ; along road to Kagga Kamma , 01 October 2009, A.M. Muasya, I. Jardine & C.H. Stirton 4594 ( BOL) ; c. 10 m from farm dam, 2 October 2009, A.M. Muasya, I. Jardine & C.H. Stirton 4616 ( BOL) ; 18 November 2014, A.M. Muasya & Y. Ito 7216 ( BOL) . Worcester: Ceres, Bo Swaarmoed , north of Hottentots Kraal dam (3319BC), 20 September 2021, N.A. Helme 10202 ( BOL) . Montagu: Witteberg Nature Reserve (3320AD), 19 February 2011, A.M. Muasya, S. Chimphango & C.H. Stirton 5912 ( BOL) ; 3 km S of Matjiesfontein (3320BC), 25 August 2016, N.A. Helme 8936 ( BOL) ; Drie Kuilen Private Nature Reserve (3320CA), 1 September 2014, A.M. Muasya 7151 ( BOL) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Distribution of the three species mapped at the centroid of each quarter degree square. Symbols used for F. bolusiana (circle), F. stirtonii (triangle), F. swartruggensis (square).

FIGURE 5. Ficinia swartruggensis. A. Habit. B. Leaf blade and sheath. C. Inflorescence. D. Glume. Artist: Kay-Leigh Kilian, based on A.M. Muasya, I. Jardine & C.H. Stirton 4594 (BOL).