Of the four generally accepted species of Tulista Raf. sensu stricto (Asphodelaceae: Alooideae), three [T. kingiana (Poelln.) Gideon F.Sm & Molteno, T. minima (Ait.) Boatwr. & J.C.Manning, and T. pumila (L.) G.D.Rowley] usually have leaves adorned with tubercles of various shapes and sizes. The fourth widely accepted species, T. marginata (Lam.) G.D.Rowley, is predominantly smooth-leaved. It should be noted that T. opalina (M.Hayashi) Breuer, as well as T. minima var. poellnitziana (Uitewaal) Breuer, both tubercle-leaved entities, are sometimes also recognised in Tulista. We here record a population of T. kingiana that comprises warty- and smoothleaved variants in more or less equal number. It has been speculated that the more warty-leaved forms of the otherwise smooth-leaved T. marginata could be of hybrid origin, T. pumila possibly being the other parent of the western forms, and T. minima of the eastern. However, T. marginata has not been recorded near the T. kingiana population. A geographical distribution map is provided for T. kingiana in the south-central Western Cape Province of South Africa, with reference to the vegetation types with which the species is usually associated.
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1 August 2017
Notes on morphological variation in, and the biogeography of, Tulista kingiana Gideon F.Sm. & Molteno (Asphodelaceae: Alooideae) from the south-central Western Cape Province of South Africa
Steven Molteno,
Gideon F. Smith
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Bradleya
Vol. 2017 • No. 35
August 2017
Vol. 2017 • No. 35
August 2017