Pauridia aemulans (Nel) Snijman & Kocyan (2013: 23)

Snijman, Deirdre A., 2014, A taxonomic revision of the genus Pauridia (Hypoxidaceae) in southern Africa, Phytotaxa 182 (1), pp. 1-114 : 37-38

7. Pauridia aemulans (Nel) Snijman & Kocyan (2013: 23) . Fig. 15

Bas.:— Ianthe aemulans Nel (1914b: 295) ≡ Spiloxene aemulans (Nel) Garside (1936: 269) . Type (holotype):— SOUTH AFRICA. [Western Cape], Prom. bon. sp., Bergius s.n. (B! No. 100088699 [image])

= Ianthe pusilla Brown (1933: 24) , nom illeg., non Ianthe pusilla ( Hooker 1858: 36) Williams (1901: 292) ( McNeill et al. 2012: Art. 53.1) ≡ Hypoxis brownii Geerinck (1969: 77) . Type (lectotype designated by Snijman & Kocyan 2013: 23):— SOUTH AFRICA. [Western Cape], Riversdale Division; near Riversdale [QDS: 3421AB], 20 June 1933, Dr J. Muir (K! No. K000098835 [image])

Plants 3–12 cm tall Corm depressed-ovoid, 5–11 mm diam., loosely covered with brown fibrous tunics; fibres firm, more or less pectinate and attached to flattened, dry disc below, otherwise reticulate, ending in short acuminate tips; roots slender, arising from lower third of corm. Cataphylls membranous, up to 25 mm long, colourless or pale brown. Leaves 2–6, shortly sheathing proximally, more or less outwardly arched, linear, 25–85 × 0.5–4.0 mm, canaliculate, pale green, margin smooth. Inflorescences 1 or rarely 2 in flower at a time, 1-flowered, shorter or equal to leaves, rarely longer; scape 13–35 × ca. 0.5 mm, subterete, pale green; bract 1, hardly clasping pedicel at base, linear, (1.5–)4.5–7.5 × ca. 0.2 mm. Flower pedicellate, stellate, yellow, mostly backed with pale reddish brown to green in outer whorl, unscented; pedicel suberect, terete, 12–20 × ca. 0.2 mm, flexed to one side when fruiting, pale green; tepals 6, often slightly reflexed when fully open, oblong-elliptical, 5–10 mm long, outer 2.0– 3.5 mm wide, mucronate, inner 1.5–2.5 mm. Stamens 6, suberect, outer reaching up to base of inner anthers, yellow; filaments inserted on ovary rim, outer 1.5–3.0 mm long, inner 3.0– 4.5 mm long, longer than anthers; anthers oblong, latrorse, 1.5–2.0 mmlong before opening, connective thickened on ventral surface, lobes extended above and below connective, sometimes very shortly so; pollen yellow. Ovary narrowly ovoid, 2.5–4.0 × 1.5 mm, 3-locular; style 1.5–2.0 mm long; stigma branches erect, oblong to lanceolate, 3–4 × 0.5–1.0 mm long, somewhat shorter or nearly equalling inner stamens, yellow, densely papillose, basal lobes up to 0.75 mm long, closely cohering and outspread from branch clefts. Capsule narrowly obconical, ca. 5.0 × 2 mm, dehiscence circumscissile. Seeds somewhat globose, ca. 0.35–0.40 mm diam., brownish, finely colliculate. Flowering period: (end of April–)May–June(–early August).

Distribution and habitat:— Pauridia aemulans is confined to gravelly, poorly drained soils or rock crevices, in full sun or partial shade, in either renosterveld or the transition between renosterveld and low succulent vegetation. Currently, scattered populations are known in the Robertson Karoo and Little Karoo, as well as on the coastal forelands between Napier and Riversdale, Western Cape ( Fig. 13 ).

Diagnostic features:—Unusual within Pauridia aemulans are the distinctly biseriate stamens in which the inner and often the outer filaments clearly exceed the anthers in length. This character is also found in Pauridia maryae and seems to suggest a close relationship between the two species. P. aemulans is distinguished by a solitary, linear bract (1.5–7.5 × ca. 0.2 mm) at the base of a short pedicel (12–20 mm long) and by a broad anther connective which is somewhat thickened on the ventral surface. P. maryae sometimes has a thickened anther connective but invariably has two, narrowly lanceolate bracts (10–16 × 2–3 mm) that clasp the base of long (56–80 mm) pedicels.

The only other species with a distinctly thickened anther connective is the autumn flowering P. monophylla , inferred by Nel (1914b) to be closely related to P. aemaulans . Nevertheless, the connective in P. monophylla is dorsally rather than ventrally thickened, which is unlike any other species in the genus, hence the dehiscence is introrse. Both species initiate flowering earlier than most of the other yellow-flowered taxa, but a close alliance between the two seems unlikely. A phylogenetic anaylsis of all species within Pauridia is still needed to fully resolve this.

The slender, cohering stigma branches, which extend into three shortly spreading caudate basal lobes, are reminiscent of P. trifurcillata but this species has two bracts per inflorescence and the apices of the stigma branches are somewhat capitate and not tapered as in P. aemulans .

Variation:—Specimens of Pauridia aemulans from the Napier Commonage near Bredasdorp and in the Langeberg near Suurbraak are unusual in having coarse, apparently glutinous leaf surfaces that collect wind-blown sand grains. Future studies may yet reveal that these populations warrant formal recognition, possibly at subspecific rank.

Additional specimens examined:— SOUTH AFRICA. Western Cape. Worcester-Robertson Karoo, along road to Eilandia from Rooiberg Winery (QDS: 3319 DC), 8 August 2007, Snijman 2112 ( NBG!) ; Robertson (QDS: 3319 DD), July 1934, Nel sub Herb. Uniw. Stellenbosiensis 19402 ( NBG!) ; Robertson (QDS: 3319 DD), July 1942, Schmidt 17 ( PRE!) ; Suurbraak, Middelplaas [Middelplaats] (QDS: 3320 BA), 12 May 1982, Viviers 303 ( NBG! [specimen in lower left hand corner of sheet]) ; Farm Rondekop , 8 km Sof Laingsburg (QDS: 3320 BB), 9 May 1981, Brusse 3496 ( PRE!) ; Farm Syferfontein, off Langkloof , Eof Montagu (QDS: 3320 CC), July 2005, Gwynne-Evans 20.05.07/1 ( NBG!) ; 3 miles NE of Montagu (QDS: 3320 CC), 21 May 1963, Hall 2645 ( NBG!) ; 13.3 km E of Bonnievale on road to Drew (QDS: 3320 CC), 10 May 1977, Perry 121 ( NBG!) ; Nslopes of Langeberg , Nof Leeurivierberg (QDS: 3320 CD), 26 April 2008, Helme 5450 ( NBG!) ; Barrydale, Tradouws Pass (QDS: 3320 DC), 29 May 1982, Viviers 362 ( NBG!) ; Seweweekspoort (QDS: 3321 AD), 2 May 1933, Compton 4208 ( NBG!) ; Ladismith , on hill slope near hospital (QDS: 3321 AD), 22 May 2009, Snijman 2342 ( NBG!) ; Seweweekspoort , W slope from poort up rocky ridge (QDS: 3321 AD), 7 May 1963, H.C. Taylor 4723 ( NBG!, PRE!) ; Little Karoo, Farm Kleinfontein (QDS: 3321 DD), 8 August 1983, Laidler 561 ( NBG!, PRE!) ; Napier Commonage (QDS: 3419 BC), 13 June 2008, J.C. McMaster 122 ( NBG!) ; Riversdale hills, near town (QDS: 3421 AB), 1 June 1924, Muir 3091 ( PRE!) .

Figures

FIGURE 13. Distribution map for Pauridia pudica (triangles) and P. trifurcillata (dots) both from Eastern Cape and P. aemulans (squares) from Western Cape, South Africa.

FIGURE 15. Pauridia aemulans. A, whole plant; B, leaf in transverse section; C, scape apex, bract and pedicel; D, individual flower; E, outer and inner stamens in dorsal view on right and left respectively; F, style and stigma branches; G, ovary in transverse section; H, capsule; I, seed. Scale bar A = 10 mm; B, H = 0.4 mm; C–G = 2 mm. Drawn by Nicci Page-Cairns from Hall 2645 (NBG!).