Psoralea margaretiflora
| Psoralea margaretiflora | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Psoralea margaretiflora |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Psoralea margaretiflora | ||||||||||||
| CH Stirton & VR Clark |
Psoralea margaretiflora is a flowering plant in the subfamily of Schmetterlingsblütler (Faboideae) within the family of the Leguminosae (Fabaceae). It is endemic to the South African province of Eastern Cape .
description
Vegetative characteristics
Psoralea margaretiflora grows as an upright, woody shrub that can reach heights of up to 2 meters and is able to grow again after a fire. 1 to 30 trunks are formed, which only develop new shoots in the upper area, the lower trunk area is free of shoots. Only the old trunks develop shoots. The grayish brown bark of the trunks is covered with white lenticels , while the young shoots have a bare and glandular, light green bark. The shoots are covered with leaves along their entire length. Water veins can be formed directly from the rootstock .
The hairless foliage leaves , which are seven times pinnate at the base of the shoot and five times above, stand on a 0.2 to 1.7 cm long petiole and are of different sizes. They grow larger on water veins and can reach lengths of 4.8 to 5.5 centimeters and widths of 4.8 to 6 centimeters. The bare and dark green leaflets are 1 to 1.3 centimeters wide, but are of different lengths, with the pair of leaflets at the base being 2.5 to 3.3 centimeters long and the middle pair of leaflets 1.9 to 2.6 centimeters long shortest is. The terminal pairs of leaflets are 1.8 to 3.1 centimeters long. They have a rounded base and a pointed top. The semi-upright and stiff, green stipules are triangular in shape with a length of 0.2 to 0.4 centimeters. The stipules on water veins become longer and curved, while they fall off quickly on flowering shoots.
Inflorescences and flowers
The flowering period of Psoralea margaretiflora extends from October to January, but can also extend into April. One to five butterfly flowers form in the leaf axils on a 1 to 1.7 centimeter long peduncle with a separate, triple-toothed and yellowish cupulum .
The hermaphroditic, zygomorphic and five-fold, greenish white single flowers are 1 to 1.2 centimeters in size and are on a 0.1 to 0.2 centimeter long peduncle. The pale green and serrated sepals are 0.5 to 0.6 centimeters long and have grown together to form a calyx tube. They are bald on the outside and covered with fine black hair on the inside of the triangular teeth, which are about 0.3 centimeters long. The upper middle, greenish white corolla , also called "flag", is elliptical with a length of about 1 centimeter and a width of about 0.8 centimeters and has a nail about 0.3 centimeters long . The two lateral petals are 0.9 to 1 centimeter long, about 0.4 centimeters wide and have a 0.3 centimeter long nail and are also called "wings". The two lower petals, about 0.6 centimeters long and 0.3 centimeters wide, have a dark purple tip and an approximately 0.5 centimeter long nail and are fused together to form a keeled, boat-like tube, which is also called a "boat" . The two “wings” on the side are glued to the “boat”. The Androeceum becomes about 0.9 centimeters long and the tenth stamen is free. The pistil is about 0.9 centimeters long and the stalked and hairless ovary reaches a length of about 1.5 millimeters.
Fruits and seeds
So far nothing is known about the fruits and seeds.
Distribution and occurrence
This endemic occurs only in the part of the Sneeuberg in the South African province of Eastern Cape . The distribution area extends there from Kamdebooberge , Koudeveldberge and Toorberg in the west to Nardousberg and the Aasvoëlkrans located behind Pearston .
Psoralea margaretiflora thrives at altitudes of 1200 to 1800 meters. It can form dense stands and is a typical representative of the thicket and bush vegetation that occurs along watercourses as well as the Karoo . It grows mainly on nutrient- rich soils containing peat and on colluvia containing dolerite .
Systematics
It was first described as Psoralea margaretiflora in 2011 by Charles H. Stirton and V. Ralph Clark in PhytoKeys , number 5, page 32. The specific epithet margaretiflora is derived from the Latin margaritaceus , which means pearly and refers to the pearly white appearing in the morning mountain fog Blossoms.
swell
- Charles H. Stirton, V. Ralph Clark, Nigel P. Barker, A. Muthama Muasya: Psoralea margaretiflora (Psoraleeae, Fabaceae): A new species from the Sneeuberg Center of Floristic Endemism, Eastern Cape, South Africa . In: PhytoKeys . No. 5 , 2011, ISSN 1314-2003 , p. 31-38 , doi : 10.3897 / phytokeys.5.1585 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Charles H. Stirton, V. Ralph Clark, Nigel P. Barker, A. Muthama Muasya: Psoralea margaretiflora (Psoraleeae, Fabaceae): A new species from the Sneeuberg Center of Floristic Endemism, Eastern Cape , South Africa . In: PhytoKeys . No. 5 , 2011, ISSN 1314-2003 , p. 31-38 , doi : 10.3897 / phytokeys.5.1585 .
