Romulea toximontana M.P. de Vos
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5180119 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A7676A-FFEA-1E2A-81C6-FE92024E8F40 |
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treatment provided by |
Carolina |
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scientific name |
Romulea toximontana M.P. de Vos |
| status |
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23. Romulea toximontana M.P. de Vos View in CoL
J. S. African Bot., Suppl. 9: 89 (1972); Fl. S. Africa 7(2), fasc. 2: 23 (1983). — Type: de Vos 2020, South Africa, Western Cape, Gifberg (holo-, NBG!; iso-, PRE) .
Plants 10-25 cm high, stem subterranean or reaching 10 cm above ground; corm obliquely flattened with a wide, fan-shaped basal ridge. Leaves 3-5, lower 2 basal, narrowly 4-grooved, sometimes minutely ciliate, c. 1 mm diam.; outer bracts with narrow membranous margins, inner bracts with wide brown-edged membranous margins. Flowers white with yellow cup, unscented, tepals elliptic, 13-22 mm long; filaments 3-5 mm long, anthers 4-6 mm long. Fruiting peduncles widely spreading. Flowering: Aug.
Romulea toximontana has a narrow range on the rocky sandstone plateau of the Bokkeveld, Gifberg and Matsikamma Mountain complex. It is apparently allied to Romulea montana , with which it shares the same corm with a very broad basal ridge and widely spreading fruiting peduncles. Romulea toximontana is distinguished by having white flowers with a yellow cup, and the outside of the tepals purple. The chromosome number, 2 n = c. 28, differs from that of R. montana which has 2 n = 24. Romulea toximantana is easily confused with R. sladenii (series Hirsutae) which has very similar white flowers and occurs in the same habitat on the Gifberg. The slightly longer stamens of R. sladenii reach just beyond the floral cup while those of R. toximontana are fully included. Nevertheless, the plants are so alike in appearance that their corms should be examined for certain identification.
Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 38: 331 (1907); M. P. de Vos, J. S. African Bot., Suppl. 9: 85 (1972); Fl. S. Africa 7(2), fasc. 2: 22 (1983). — Type: Schlechter 10818, South
Africa, Western Cape, Pakhuis Pass (lecto-, Z, designated by M.P. DE VOS, 1972; isolecto-, B, BM, BOL!, GRA, K!, PRE!, S, US).
Plants 5-15 cm, stem subterranean or reaching 2 cm above ground; corm with a crescentshaped basal ridge. Leaves 3-5, lower 2 basal, narrowly 4-grooved, 0.5 mm diam.; outer bracts with narrow membranous margins, inner bracts with wide brown-speckled membranous margins. Flowers orange-yellow with dark marks in the cup, sweetly scented, tepals elliptic, 12-20 mm long; filaments 6-9 mm long, hairy to the top, anthers 2.5-3 mm long. Flowering: July-Aug. — Fig. 2F View Fig .
Romulea sulphurea was known until recently only from the type collection made by Rudolf SCHLECHTER in 1897 but in 1999 an extensive population was located at the eastern foot of the Pakhuis Mountains on the farm Alpha. The species grows in dense communities on sandstone pavement in shallow sandy soil. Although closely allied to R. montana , R. sulphurea is readily distinguished by its smaller, dark yellow to almost orange flowers with unusually short anthers, only about half as long as the filaments. The leaves are also narrower than are typically found in R. montana .
| NBG |
South African National Biodiversity Institute |
| PRE |
South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) |
| M |
Botanische Staatssammlung München |
| P |
Museum National d' Histoire Naturelle, Paris (MNHN) - Vascular Plants |
| J |
University of the Witwatersrand |
| S |
Department of Botany, Swedish Museum of Natural History |
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.