Flowering Plants of Africa A magazine containing colour plates with descriptions of flowering plants of Africa and neighbouring islands Edited by G. Germishuizen with assistance of E. du Plessis and G.S. Condy Volume 61 Pretoria 2009 Editorial Board A. Nicholas University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, RSA D.A. Snijman South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Town, RSA Referees and other co-workers on this volume C. Archer, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, RSA R.H. Archer, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, RSA J.K. Archibald, Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA C.L. Bredenkamp, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, RSA D. Bridson, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK C.L. Craib, Bryanston, RSA P.J. Cribb, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK R. de Mello-Silva, Department of Botany, University of São Paulo, Brazil G.D. Duncan, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Town, RSA D.J. Goyder, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK N. Hahn, Institute of Conservation and Natural History of the Soutpansberg, Louis Trichardt, RSA P.P.J. Herman, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, RSA S. Kativu, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe J. Lavranos, Loulé, Portugal G.P. Lewis, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK J.C. Manning, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Town, RSA U. Meve, Department of Plant Systematics, University of Bayreuth, Germany A. Nicholas, School of Biological & Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, RSA R.B. Nordenstam, Department of Phanerogamic Botany, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden D.F. Otieno, Department of Biological Sciences, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya E. Retief, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, RSA M. Sands, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK B.B. Simpson, Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA S.J. Smithies, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, RSA D.A. Snijman, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Town, RSA H. Steyn, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, RSA E.J. van Jaarsveld, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Town, RSA A.E. van Wyk, Department of Plant Science, University of Pretoria, RSA B-E. van Wyk, Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, University of Johannesburg, RSA G. Willamson, Bergvliet, RSA P.J.D. Winter, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, RSA Date of publication of Volume 60 Plates 2221–2240 ............................................... 1 June 2007 Next volume Volume 62 is likely to appear in 2011.—The Editor ISSN 0015-4504 ISBN 978-1-919976-50-1 ii Contents Volume 61 2241. Aloe pronkii. G.F. Smith, E. Figueiredo, N.R. Crouch and Gillian Condy ....... 2 2242. Aloe vossii. N.R. Crouch, R.R. Klopper, G.F. Smith and Sibonelo Chiliza ....... 8 2243. Eucomis zambesiaca. P.J.D. Winter and Gillian Condy ..................... 18 2244. Veltheimia bracteata. G.D. Duncan and Marieta Visagie . 24 2245. Nerine pancratioides. G.D. Duncan, C.L. Craib and Gillian Condy . 34 2246. Xerophyta longicaulis. N.R. Crouch and Gillian Condy..................... 42 2247. Habenaria schimperiana. T. Mpongo and Gillian Condy . 50 2248. Serruria elongata. J.P. Rourke and Gillian Condy......................... 56 2249. Kalanchoe crenata subsp. crenata. N.R. Crouch, G.F. Smith and Gillian Condy ... 62 2250. Pomaria sandersonii. G. Germishuizen, A. Grobler and Gillian Condy......... 70 2251. Begonia homonyma. T. McLellan, N.R. Crouch and Gillian Condy ............ 76 2252. Diospyros whyteana. M. Jordaan and Gillian Condy....................... 84 2253. Aspidoglossum ovalifolium. S.P. Bester and Gillian Condy . 90 2254. Lavrania haagnerae. S.P. Bester and Gillian Condy ....................... 98 2255. Syncolostemon macranthus. E. Retief and Gillian Condy ................... 108 2256. Thorncroftia greenii. K. Balkwill, K. Changwe, R.A. Reddy and Barbara Pike.... 112 2257. Zaluzianskya glareosa. G.V. Cron and Gillian Condy . 118 2258. Dewinteria petrophila. E.J. van Jaarsveld, A.E. van Wyk and Vicki Thomas . 124 2259. Ixora foliicalyx. P. De Block and Omer Van de Kerckhove .................. 132 2260. Cineraria austrotransvaalensis. G.V. Cron and Barbara Pike ................. 140 Guide for authors and artists . 145 Index to Volume 61 . 149 New taxon published in this volume Thorncroftia greenii K.Changwe & K.Balkwill, sp. nov., p. 112 iii This volume is dedicated to JOHN LAVRANOS Citizen of the succulent world. John Lavranos with a chameleon, Furcifer verrucosus, in south- ern Madagascar in May 2003. Photographer: Tom McCoy. Over a period of more than 50 years John has contributed extensively to our knowledge of particularly the succulents of Africa, Saudi Arabia, Madagascar and beyond. Through his exploration of previously remote and inaccessible areas, dozens of new species have been discovered and described. Even as an octogenarian his intrepid global explorations, now extending to several continents, are continuing unabated. John collaborates freely and easily and has assisted scores of emerging and established plant diversity scientists in their quest to improve our understanding of the natural world, particularly species relationships. His exploration feats have inspired generations of natural historians and he remains a popular lecturer at international conventions. PLATE 2241 Aloe pronkii Flowering Plants of Africa 61: 2–6 (2009) 3 Aloe pronkii Asphodelaceae Madagascar Aloe pronkii Lavranos, Rakouth & T.A.McCoy in Cactus & Succulent Journal (U.S.) 78: 198–200 (2006). In August of 1960, The Secretaries of the Linnean Society of London made spe- cial mention of Dr Gilbert Reynolds for his having ‘travelled more miles in Africa in search of (Aloe) plants than any other plant collector living or dead’ (Reynolds 1966). The astonishing distance travelled by this prolific contributor to Aloe taxonomy exceeded 64 000 km, which included his 1955 sojourn on the Ile Rouge, the Red Island. This was arranged by the Institut Scientifique de Madagascar, Tsimbazaza, in Antananarivo. During his period in Madagascar he sought out aloes at their type localities and wherever else he could find them, managing to traverse the island, working the northwest, the central highlands and the more arid south, in which region he appears to have focussed his collecting activities (Reynolds 1958). Following the description by Reynolds of several Malagasy novelties shortly thereafter, and still more by Prof. Werner Rauh, a total of 46 species (plus 15 varie- ties) were enumerated for this Indian Ocean island by the time of Reynolds’s land- mark work, published in 1966. Reynolds at that point remarked, ‘I believe there are still a few species of Aloe in Madagascar awaiting discovery and description’. This was a substantial underestimation, for within 40 years the number has approximately doubled. In fairness to Reynolds, a single fieldtrip to the fourth largest island in the world (at 587 000 km2)—and an inaccessible one at that—could hardly do it justice! The diversity of xeric and mesic habitats in Madagascar is remarkable: ‘tsingy’ limestone massifs of knife-edge pinnacles, quartzitic highlands, the desolate sand- stones of the Isalo Mountains and much else besides (Preston-Mafham 1991). These various sites sustain a tremendous diversity of aloes, many highly localised in their distribution, and only recently brought to light (see for example Lavranos et al. 2007). The tremendous improvement in our understanding of the diversity of Malagasy aloes in the last few decades can be attributed largely to John J. Lavranos, botanist extraordinaire, adventurer and consummate contributor of numerous sci- entific publications and the herbarium vouchers that underpin them. To date, over 32 000 collections have been made by Lavranos. Seldom is it that a monograph or floristic treatment of African succulents is produced that does not necessarily cite his interesting specimens—especially in the Asphodelaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Apocynaceae (Stapelieae, the succulent stapeliads) (e.g. Dyer 1983). Given the rate of discovery of aloes in Madagascar in recent decades, this island may yet prove to be the hottest of Aloe hotspots. Currently, this exclusively Old World PLATE 2241.—1, habit, × 1; 2, ripe fruit, × 1.5; 3, open capsule and seeds, × 1.5. Voucher specimen: Smith & Figueiredo 1 in National Herbarium, Pretoria. Artist: Gillian Condy. 4 Flowering Plants of Africa 61 (2009) genus is known to be most speciose in South Africa, with about 150 indigenous rep- resentatives (Van Wyk & Smith 2004); the other significant present-day regions of diversity—eastern Africa and Saudi Arabia—lag behind somewhat in the richness stakes (Smith & Van Wyk 2008). Probably the best way to describe the vegetative appearance of Aloe pronkii is to imagine it as a hypothetical hybrid of two other alooids, both South African in this instance: Aloe bowiea and Chortolirion angolense. The latter has earlier featured (as C. stenophyllum) in The Flowering Plants of South Africa (Plate 932), while the miniature A. bowiea has also been figured (Plate 2096). The slender, but distinctly succulent leaves of Pronk’s aloe are grass-like and carried in a lax, open tuft as shown on the accompanying plate. The flowers are reminiscent of those of the exclusively karroid genus Astroloba (Alooideae), except that they are red