Cynoglossum coeruleum subsp. johnstonii var. mannii (Baker & C.H. Wright) Verdc

Madika, Lydia K. & Moteetee, Annah Ntsamaeeng, 2022, Taxonomic revision of the southern African species of the genus Cynoglossum L. (Boraginaceae), PhytoKeys 193, pp. 9-42 : 23-25

4. Cynoglossum coeruleum subsp. johnstonii var. mannii (Baker & C.H. Wright) Verdc . in Fl.Trop. E. Africa, Boraginac.: 110 (1991).

Cynoglossum mannii Baker & C.H.Wright , in Oliver et al., Fl. Trop. Afr. , 4(2.1): 52 (1905) ♀ ♂, Type as above.

Cynoglossum geometricum Baker & C.H. Wright , in Oliver et al., Fl. Trop. Afr. 4(2.1): 52 (1905).

Type: Nyasaland [ Malawi] ♀ ♂ Mount Chiradzulu, no date, A. Whyte s.n. (K-image! lectotype, here designated). Notes : The specimen was selected as a lectotype by B.L. Burtt on the sheet but was never designated formally.

Paracynoglossum geometricum (Baker & C.H. Wright) R.R. Mill. in Notes Royal. Bot. Gard., Edinb. 41 (3): 478 (1984). ♀ ♂, Type: Same as above.

Cynoglossum coeruleum subsp. geometricum (Baker & C.H. Wright) S. Edwards in Fl. Ethiopia & Eritrea 5: 93 (2006), nom. inval.

Type. Cameroon ♀♂, Mount Cameroon, Dec 1862, Mann 2005 (K-image, lectotype! here designated; K-image [2 sheets] isolectotype!) .

Perennial, biennial, or annual herbs, 1.2 m in height. Basal leaves 90–190× 28–56 mm, lanceolate-obtuse, softly hairy, deciduous, margins entire. Stem leaves 35–90× 7–25 mm, lanceolate, apex acute, base acute to obtuse, covered with moderately stiff hairs margins entire. Trichomes bulbous based on the upper surface of the leaf, sometimes simple on the lower surface. Inflorescences terminal axillary cymes, few branches spreading dichotomously; pedicel 4–8 mm long, lengthens considerably in fruit.Calyx ca. 21 mm long, lobes ovate-oblong, adpressed-hairy outside, smooth inside, apex acute. Corolla white with pale blue throat; lobes ca. 2.1 mm in diameter, campanulate. Nutlets ovoid, 3–4× 2.5–3.5 mm; glochidia more marginal and on the median line ( Figure 9).

Phenology. December to April.

Conservation status. Least Concern ( Raimondo et al. 2009).

Diagnostic characters. This variety can be easily confused with C. lanceolatum due to the dichotomous branching of the inflorescence but can be distinguished from it by the distribution and density of the glochidia in the nutlets. The glochidia on the nutlets of Cynoglossum coeruleum var. mannii are more marginal and on the median line, whereas they are equally distributed around the whole nutlet in C. lanceolatum .

Distribution and habitat. This variety is endemic to South Africa where it is known only from KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Provinces ( Figure 10). It is also reported from Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe ( Mill and Miller 1984). It is found in disturbed grassland and sandy areas.

Additional specimens examined. South Africa. KWAZULU-NATAL: 2731 (Louwsburg): Itala Nature Reserve (- AD), 10 Dec 1987, M. Jordaan 7064 ( NH); 9 Dec 1987, A.G. Hutchings 2530 ( NU); Zululand District Municipality Area, Abaqulusi Municipality Area, Tygerskloof Farm (- CD), 24 Jan 2012, A.M. Ngwenya and D.G.A. Styles 4034 ( NH); 7 Mar 2019, A.N. Moteetee and L.K. Madika AL010 ( JRAU). 2828 (Bethlehem): Royal Natal National Park (- DB), 17 February 1984, O.M. Hilliard and B.L. Burtt 17658 ( NBG; NU). 2831 (Nkandla): Nhlazatshe farm, (- AA), 4 Mar 1994, T.B. Sikhakhane 440 ( NH). 2929 (Underberg): Mpendhle District, Loteni Nature Reserve (- AD), 1 Feb 2001, A.M. Ngwenya 1940 ( NH), Loteni, upper reaches of river (- BC), 31 Mar 1984, O.M. Hilliard 8218 ( NU, PRE), Sipongweni Mountain (- CD), 20 Mar 1987, O.M. Hilliard and B.L. Burtt 8249 ( PRE). 2930 (Pietermaritzburg): On the Phezulu Game Estate, Botha’s Hill (- DC), 22 Jan 2005, D. Styles 2280 ( NH). 3030 (Port Shepstone): M. Stainbank’s farm, mid Illovo (- BB), 23 Dec 2008, A. Young 942 ( NU). EASTERN CAPE: 3023 (Britstown): Kamberg (- CC), 21 Mar 1983, O.M. Hilliard 8208 ( NU). 3128 (Umtata): Baziya Mission (- CB), 12 Feb 1981, O.M. Hilliard and B.L. Burtt 13952 ( NU); Nenga River, (- DB), 26 Oct 2001, E. Cloete 6342 ( GRA). 3226 (Fort Beaufort): Hogsback (- DB), Apr 1956, R. Collett 9775 ( GRA); Apr 1955, A.R.H. Martin 9678 ( GRA); Apr 1962, A. Jacot Guillarmod 5544 ( GRA); 12 Apr 1955, L.M. Johnson 1152 ( GRA); 4 Mar 1973, M. Bradley 55 ( GRA).

Taxonomic notes. (i) Cynoglossum geometricum was recorded in the southern African region ( FSA) for the first time by Hilliard and Burtt (1986). Although the name seems to be accepted in the Flora of southern African region ( FSA), for example, Germishuizen and Meyer (2003) and Burrows and Willis (2005), it is not the correct name for this taxon. The correct name is Cynoglossum coeruleum subsp. johnstonii var. mannii , as synonimized by Verdcourt (1991). It is worth noting that the latter name is erroneously listed as C. coeruleum var. mannii in websites such as Plants of the World Online (http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/966730-1) and the World Flora Online (http://www.worldfloraonline.org/). Verdcourt (1991) relegated C. johnstonii to subspecies level under C. coeruleum and then transferred C. mannii to C. coeruleum as a variety of Cynoglossum coeruleum subsp. johnstonii . (ii) There are three sheets of Mann 2005 in Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ( K), the one with the barcode number K000418935 is chosen as a lectotype because it displays most of the important characters of the species which can be used to distinguish this species from the rest, such as the inflorescence character and the branching pattern.