Drosera bequaertii Taton

Rjosk, A., Neinhuis, C., Monizi, M. & Lautenschläger, T., 2022, Synopsis of the genus Drosera (Droseraceae) in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Blumea - Biodiversity, Evolution and Biogeography of Plants 67 (1), pp. 1-14 : 5

2. Drosera bequaertii Taton — Fig. 4

Drosera bequaertii Taton (1945a) 308;G.C.C. Gilbert (1951) 553;J.R. Laundon (1970) 27; (1978) 64; A.S.Rob. et al. (2017) 1334. —

Type: J. Bequaert 476 (holo BR), DRC, 8 June 1912.

Drosera compacta Exell & J.R.Laundon (1955a) 44. —

Type: A.W. Exell & F.A. Mendon ҫa 1030 (holo COI), Angola, Lunda Sul, Rio Luachimo, entre Sila Henrique de Carvalho e Dala , ‘Tenga’, 24 Apr. 1937.

Perennial herb, shortly caulescent. Stems 3–4 (up to 7) cm long, 1–2.5 mm diam, densely pilose ( Fig. 4b ). Leaves alternate, clustered at the apex and erect, basally more widely spaced and more or less reflexed; stipules 2–4.5 mm long, membra- nous, ferrugineous, lacerated at the apex; lamina obovate to spathulate, 4–12 by 3–6 mm, the adaxial surface and margins bearing tentacles, abaxially pilose ( Fig. 4a ); petiole 5–12 by 0.5–1 mm, flat, densely pilose. Inflorescence cymose, with 2–8 flowers; peduncles 1 or 2 together, 10–17 cm long, completely erect, basally glandular and pilose to densely pilose, apically glandular; bracts almost linear, 2–3 mm long, glandular or pi- lose; pedicels 2–7 mm long, glandular. Sepals 5, lanceolate to ovate, 3–4.5 by 1.5–2 mm, connate at the base, occasionally apex serrate, glandular. Petals 5, obovate, 5–7 by c. 4 mm, bright pink. Stamens 5, filaments 3–4 mm long. Pistil: ovary subglobose, 2–3 mm diam, glabrous; styles 3, c. 2 mm long, bipartite to the base, branches ascending, with broadened apices. Seeds suborbicular to ovoid, c. 0.3 by 0.2 mm ( Fig. 4e ), black, shining, testa smooth.

Distribution — Angola, DRC, Zambia ( Fig. 4c ).

Habitat & Ecology — Grassy wetlands, upland plateaus.

Additional specimens (see Fig. 4d for province map). ANGOLA, Moxico, Cameia National Park , Biodiversity Observatory , S11°31' E20°55', alt. 1126 m, 3 May 2016, M.Finckh & Zigelski 143303 ( HBG) . – DRC, Haut-Katanga, Cuv. de Kabiashia, rivière Kandale , alt. 1000 m, 24 June 1968, J. Leonard 4617 ( BR) .

Note — Drosera compacta is widely accepted as a synonym of D. bequaertii . Both type specimens show many similarities but differ in leaf arrangement (densely vs more openly arranged) and scape indumentum (basally densely pilose vs glandular and pilose). Since this species is only infrequently documented ( Robinson et al. 2017) and only few specimens were studied, no comment can be made on separating both taxa. Here, a more detailed analysis is required.

Figures

Fig. 4 Drosera bequaertii Taton. a. Leaf shape, typified by the flattened, densely pilose petiole and the obovate to spathulate lamina; b. general morphology: short caulescent, densely pilose herb with spiral leaves and terminal, erect inflorescences; c. distribution (grey) according to the literature; d. province map of Angola and DRC with localities of examined herbarium specimens; e. dry seed, 260 × 130 µm. — Scale bars: a = 1 cm; b = 2 cm; e = 20 µm.