Romulea sanguinalis 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 : 93

44. Romulea sanguinalis M.P. de Vos

J. S. African Bot., Suppl. 9: 191 (1972); Fl. S. Africa 7(2), fasc. 2: 39 (1983). — Type: Burger s. n., South Africa, Western Cape, Bokkeveld Mts., Menzieskraal (holo-, NBG 30207!) .

Plants 15-35 cm high, stem reaching 4-8 cm above ground; corm with a broad, crescentshaped basal ridge, nearly bell-shaped. Leaves 3, basal and cauline, narrowly 4-grooved, c. 0.7 mm diam.; outer bracts with scarcely visible membranous margins, inner bracts with wide colorless or brown-speckled membranous margins. Flowers uniformly red, tepals oblanceolate-cuneate, 22-35 mm long; filaments c. 5 mm long, glabrous, anthers 8-10 mm long. Flowering: Aug.

Evidently occurring on stony flats, Romulea sanguinalis is restricted to a small portion of the Bokkeveld plateau north of Botterkloof Pass in Northern Cape Province. Known from a single collection, R. sanguinalis is readily recognized by the uniformly red flower and corm with a broad, crescent-shaped basal ridge. The glabrous filaments are unusual.