Romulea schlechteri Bég.

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 : 76

7. Romulea schlechteri Bég.

Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 38: 335 (1907); M . P . de Vos , J . S . African Bot., Suppl. 9: 62 (1972); Fl. S . Africa 7(2), fasc. 2: 17 (1983). — Type: Schlechter 8648, South Africa, Western Cape, Pakhuis Mts. (lecto-, B, designated by M. P. DE VOS, 1972; isolecto-, BOL!, BM, G, K!, Z) .

Romulea papyracea Wolley-Dod, J. Bot. 38: 170 (1900); M.P. de Vos, J. S. African Bot., Suppl. 9: 66 (1972); Fl. S. Africa 7(2), fasc. 2: 19 (1983). — Type: Wolley-Dod 3075, South Africa, Western Cape, Table Mountain (holo-, BOL!; iso-, BM, K!); syn. nov.

Plants mostly 5-15 cm high, stem reaching 4- 15 cm above ground, sometimes entirely subterranean; corm with a crescent-shaped basal ridge. Leaves 3-6, lower 2 basal, narrowly 4-grooved, sometimes minutely ciliate, 0.5-2 mm diam.; outer bracts with hardly visible membranous margins, somewhat to considerably longer than the inner, inner bracts with wide white membranous margins. Flowers pink or lilac to cream or white with yellow cup, scented of honey and coconut, tepals elliptic, 12-40 mm long; filaments 3-10 mm long, anthers 4-9 mm long. Fruiting peduncles erect or suberect. Flowering: July-early Oct.

A relatively unspecialized species in series Ciliatae , Romulea schlechteri may be recognized by its lilac to pink to cream or white flowers, two basal leaves and inner bracts with broad, white membranous margins. It is restricted to sandy flats, mainly along the coast, and may be found from the Bokkeveld Mountains in the north to the Caledon district in the south. The species is somewhat variable and incompletely understood although it seems to comprise three more or less distinct geographic races. Plants from the north of the range, on the Gifberg and near Lamberts Bay, have well-developed stems and white flowers with the outer tepals flushed green on the lower surfaces. A second, montane form distributed from Clanwilliam to Caledon is distinctive in its pink flowers flushed bronze on the lower surfaces of the outer tepals, short stem and prominent fibrous neck at the top of the corm. The third race, with large, cream-flowers from the coastal sands between Mamre and Yzerfontein is particularly attractive.

Known from only a single gathering from the eastern slopes of Table Mountain on the Cape Peninsula, Romulea papyracea is a puzzling plant. The few specimens which comprise the type collection are unremarkable except that the outer floral bracts are unusually long in comparison to the inner. This is also a feature of R. schlechteri which is in every way very like R. papyracea and also occurs on the Cape Peninsula. The outer bracts of R. papyracea are said to be keeled but they are no more so than those of R. schlechteri . The flowering stem is underground at flowering time unlike its relatives in which the stem is usually shortly to well exserted above ground level.