Aspalathus macrocarpa Eckl. & Zeyh. Enum.

Stirton, C. H. & Muasya, A. M., 2016, Seven new species and notes on the genus Aspalathus (Crotalarieae, Fabaceae) *, South African Journal of Botany 104, pp. 35-46 : 44

3.8. Aspalathus macrocarpa Eckl. & Zeyh. Enum. 2: 203 (1832);

Benth. in Hooker. London J. Bot. 7: 630 (1848); Harv., Fl. Cap. 2: 123 (1862); R. Dahlgren in Op. Bot. Soc. Bot. Lund 9,1: 96 (1965); in Bot. Notiser 120: 34 (1967); R. Dahlgren in Flora S. Africa 16: 129 (1988)

Type: South Africa. Western Cape Province, Bredasdorp (3420): Wagenmakersbosch, near Swellendam , Mund s.n. (S, lecto; SAM 31621, isolecto designated by Dahlgren (1998)) .

Dahlgren (1988) mentions in his account of this species that apart from the not clearly localised ‘Wagenmakersbosch’ this species is “only known from the foothills (altitude 400 m) of the Langeberg Mountains near de Hoop Farm, Robertson Division, where it grows in slightly clayey soil on steep fynbos slopes”. Recently we recollected it near Barrydale which greatly extends its range ( Fig. 5 ). We list below the known collections of this species.

3.8.1. Additional specimen studied

South Africa. Western Cape: 3319 (Worcester): Bergendal, Klaasvoogds West, Robertson , foothills of Langeberg (− DD), 4 Mar. 1986, Moffett and Steensma 4158 ( NBG) ; De Hoop Farms (− DD), 3 m NE of Robertson, 5 Dec. 1965, Dahlgren and Strid 4402 ( NBG) . 3320 (Montagu): 2 km from Barrydale to Ladismith (− CB), 27 Aug. 2010, Muasya and Stirton 5542 ( BOL) .

3.8.2. Conservation status

The South African Red Data Book ( Raimondo et al., 2009) lists A. macrocarpa as VU D2 (population with a very restricted area of occupancy; IUCN, 2001), noting that the three known locations are potentially threatened by expansion of vineyards. The Barrydale population is not threatened by such cultivation as the plants occur across a large natural cattle grazing hillside with old renosterbos. We noticed only four plants scattered across the landscape on the South East slopes. This species is a reseeder and its regeneration is fire dependent. The area has not been burned for at least 10 years. It would be good to monitor this population following the next fire. The landowner is aware of its rarity status. Fruiting takes place in April. The species is found in Robertson Granite Renosterveld (FRg 3), Breede Shale Renosterveld (FRs 8), and Montagu Shale Renosterveld (FRs 7) ( Rebelo et al., 2006) ( Fig. 5 ).

Figures

Fig. 5. Known distribution of Aspalathus barbigera (open circle), A. eriocephaloides (cross), A. eustonbrownii (black circle), A. macrocarpa (grey square), A. modesta (black square), A.nickhelmei (black triangle) and A. usnoides (grey circle) in Western and Eastern Cape Provinces.