Phyllanthus glaucophyllus Sond.

Verwijs, J. I. M., Bouman, R. W. & Welzen, P. C. van, 2019, A taxonomic revision of Phyllanthus subgenus Macraea (Phyllanthaceae), Blumea 64 (3), pp. 231-252 : 240

9. Phyllanthus glaucophyllus Sond. — Map 8

Phyllanthus glaucophyllus Sond. (1850) 133; Baill. (1862b) 166; Müll.Arg. (1863) 18; (1866) 393; N.E.Br., Hutch. & Prain (1915) 394; Radcl.-Sm. (1987) 19; Jean F. Brunel (1987) 299, annex 40; M.G. Gilbert (1995) 281; Radcl.-Sm.(1996) 48;Radcl.-Sm.& Petra Hoffm.(2006) 610. — Diasperus glaucophyllus (Sond.) Kuntze (1891) 599. — Lectotype (designated here): C.L.P. Zeyher 1509 (S; iso MEL), South Africa, Transvaal, Magalisberg.

Phyllanthus glaucophyllus Sond.var. major Müll.Arg.(1864) 514;(1866) 393; N.E. Br., Hutch. & Prain (1912) 713; Jean F. Brunel (1987) 299.— Lectotype (designated here): Sanderson 447 (S; iso DBN, K, NH, SAM,TCD), South Africa, Port Natal (currently Durban).

Phyllanthus glaucophyllus Sond. var. suborbicularis Hutch. (in Brown et al. 1920) 395. — Lectotype (designated here): M.E. Barber 39 (K), South Africa, Kaffranian Mountains.

(Sub)shrubs, 5‒100 cm high, monoecious; stems arising from a thick woody rhizome, barely branching; branches winged or minutely ridged, minutely pubescent or glabrous, greyish green or brown, distally flattened; internodes 3‒6 mm long. Stipules triangular, 1‒2 by 0.3‒1 mm, base bilaterally auriculate, margin entire, sometimes denticulate, apex attenuate. Leaves: petiole 1‒1.5 mm long, glabrous; blade ovate or elliptic, 7‒20 by 4‒18 mm, 1.1‒2.5 times longer than wide, glabrous, base often slightly asymmetrical, (sub)cordate, margin thickened or thin, flat or revolute, apex acute, obtuse or rounded, often minutely mucronate; midrib flat above, prominent underneath, lateral veins 5‒7 per side, flat or prominent on both sides. Staminate flowers solitary to 5 together, 1.5‒2.5 mm diam; pedicel 2‒4 mm long, glabrous, often slender; sepals 6, obovate or elliptic, 1‒1.2 by 0.5‒1 mm, white, green or yellow, sometimes with white margin, apex rounded; disc glands 6, either circular, flat, c. 0.2 mm diam or bell-shaped, c. 0.2 mm diam, 0.2‒0.3 mm high; stamens 3, 0.5‒1 mm long, filaments free, thecae subglobular, 0.2‒0.3 mm long. Pistillate flowers solitary, c. 2.5 mm diam; pedicel 6‒10 mm long, glabrous; sepals 6, ovate or elliptic, 1‒1.5 by 0.5‒1 mm, white, green or yellow, apex acute or obtuse; disc annular, slightly lobed, flat, 1.5‒2 mm diam; ovary globular-oblate, 1‒1.5 mm diam, 0.5‒1 mm high, glabrous; style absent, stigmas 3, c. 1 mm long, bifid for 2/3‒3/4 of the length, reflexed. Fruits subglobular, 3‒8 mm diam, 6-grooved, glabrous; pedicel 6‒12 mm long, glabrous; columella 1‒1.5 mm long. Seeds c. 2.5 by 2 mm, verrucate, light brown, verrucae circular, randomly placed or in indistinct longitudinal lines.

Distribution — Southern half of Africa.

Habitat & Ecology — In grasslands, savannahs, woodland, on mountains and slopes, often in rocky areas. Altitude: 100‒2000 m. Flowering and fruiting all year round.

Notes — 1. This is the only Macraea species that grows from a woody rhizome, and is therefore easily recognizable.

2. Brunel (1987) united P. glaucophyllus with P. alpestris , but because of the difference in distribution and morphology of the staminate disc glands, we would like to recognize P. alpestris as a variety of P. glaucophyllus .

3. Another possible synonym of P. glaucophyllus might be P. graminicola Hutch. because one of the type specimens (C.F.M. Swynnerton 261, stored in BM with barcode BM000911067) was re-identified by Radcliffe-Smith as P. glaucophyllus . However, to our knowledge this combination was never published and the description by Hutchinson in Rendle et al. (1911) differs markedly from any species within subg. Macraea . As we have not seen the specimens during this study, we did not include it here.

Key to the varieties

1. Leaf blade concolorous. Staminate flowers solitary; disc glands circular, flat. Pistillate pedicels 8‒10 mm long. Fruits 3‒4 mm diam.................. a. var. glaucophyllus

Figures

Map 8 Distribution of Phyllanthus glaucophyllus Sond. var. glaucophyllus (●) and P. glaucophyllus var. alpestris (Beille) Verwijs (▲) in Africa.