Romulea fischeri Pax

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 : 74

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5180119

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A7676A-FFFD-1E3C-81C6-FF5A00618DDF

treatment provided by

Carolina

scientific name

Romulea fischeri Pax
status

 

3. Romulea fischeri Pax View in CoL

Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 15: 150 (1892); Goldblatt, Fl.

Trop. E. Africa, Iridaceae View in CoL : 35 (1996); Fl. Somalia

4: 65 (1995). — Type: Fischer 587, Kenya, Aberdare

Mts., Abori (holo-, B!).

Romulea purpurascens var. edulis W. Herbert ex Baker, J. Linn. Soc. View in CoL 16: 87 (1878). — Types: Schweinfurth 580 (syn-, B), Socotra, Haghier hills; Nimmo s.n. (syn-, not seen); Wellsted s.n. (syn-, not seen); syn. nov.

Plants 8-40 cm, stem subterranean; corm obliquely pointed with a narrow basal ridge. Leaves 2-5, filiform, narrowly 4-grooved, c. 1 mm diam.; outer bracts with narrow membranous margins, inner bracts with broad brown-flecked membranous margins. Flowers purple to violet or white with a yellow cup, tepals elliptic, 10-16 mm long; filaments 3-4 mm long, anthers c. 3 mm long. Flowering: Mainly Aug.-Dec.

Romulea fischeri View in CoL occurs in stony or grassy plateaus and alpine seeps in the eastern African highlands of Kenya and Ethiopia as well as in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Socotra in the east. Evidently closely related to the more widespread Romulea camerooniana View in CoL , R. fischeri View in CoL is distinguished from that species most easily by the outer floral bracts, which have narrow membranous margins and inner bracts with broad membranous margins. The outer bracts of R. camerooniana View in CoL have hardly visibly membranous margins and the inner bracts have only narrow membranous margins. Until now collections of Romulea View in CoL from Socotra have been associated with the Mediterranean R. purpurascens View in CoL as var. edulis View in CoL ( BALFOUR 1888; FORBES 1903) but we have examined plants from that island and find that they differ in no significant way from the East African R. fischeri View in CoL , which also occurs in Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula, except for a perianth that is darker purple rather than pink to light purple. The bracts match those of R. fischeri View in CoL in their relatively broad membranous margins while the inner bracts have fairly broad membranous margins flecked with brown.

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Liliopsida

Order

Asparagales

Family

Iridaceae

Genus

Romulea

Loc

Romulea fischeri Pax

Manning, John C. & Goldblatt, Peter 2001
2001
Loc

Iridaceae

E. Africa 1996: 35
1996
Loc

Romulea purpurascens var. edulis W. Herbert ex

Baker 1878: 87
1878
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