Gerbera sect. Gerbera

Manning, J. C., Simka, B., Boatwright, J. S. & Magee, A. R., 2016, A revised taxonomy of Gerbera sect. Gerbera (Asteraceae: Mutisieae) *, South African Journal of Botany 104 (1), pp. 142-157 : 143-145

4.1.1. Gerbera sect. Gerbera

Acaulescent, herbaceous perennials. Leaves rosulate, erect to spreading, petiolate; blade linear or oblong to lanceolate or obovate, margins entire or toothed to pinnatilobed, apex obtuse to mucronate, often strongly discolorous, upper surface glabrous to thinly felted, often whitish woolly on midrib, dull or glossy green, lower surface densely whitish–greyish or yellowish–brownish felted; petiole subglabrous or felted but always conspicuously silky at base. Scape glabrous or felted, sometimes with patches of whitish wool, ± expanded distally, bracteate; bracts subulate, glabrous or felted. Capitula mostly 30–40 mm diam. Involucre campanulate, bracts 3- or 4-subseriate or imbricate, glabrous or thinly to thickly felted, acute or acuminate, margins membranous and often maroon. Florets dimorphic, bilabiate; ray florets femalefertile, unequally bilabiate, lower lip ligulate and tridentate, usually discolorous, often white or cream to pinkish above and dark below, upper lip 2-lobed, staminodes present; disc florets minutely ± equally bilabiate, bisexual; anther appendages pale yellow to black. Cypselas ellipsoid to flask-shaped, shortly beaked, puberulous, with short, blunt, inflated myxogenic hairs. Pappus bristles whitish tawny or rarely pure white or tinged reddish brown distally.

8 spp., endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, flowering mainly in spring and summer, typically only after fire.

Most specimens are readily assigned to species but hybridisation between species is not uncommon, resulting in a range of intermediate forms that will confuse species identification without field knowledge of the situation. All of the species have ± discrete areas of distribution and this is a valuable adjunct to correct identification. Some species appear to replace one another along a geographical cline, with a blurring of morphological discontinuities in the zones of overlap. This is especially evident in G. tomentosa – G. serrata – G. ovata and G. linnaei – G. serrata .

4.2. Key to species

1a. Leaves pinnatisect or deeply pinnatifid; all involucral bracts glabrous; pappus tinged deep brownish in distal half... 4. G. linnaei

1b. Leaves entire to deeply sinuate or toothed; at least outer involucral bracts felted; pappus not distinctly bicoloured:

2a. Under surface of leaf blades whitish–greyish felted or glabrescent; rays never yellow:

3a. Leaf margins ± deeply and irregularly incised; blade elliptic to oblanceolate, cuneate at base, lower surface persistently densely white- or greyish-felted; plants from Cederberg to Tulbagh... 1. G. sinuata .

3b. Leaf margins entire to irregularly toothed; blade various; plants from Tulbagh to Cape Peninsula:

4a. Leaves obovate or oblanceolate, truncate to attenuate at base, lower surface glabrous to thinly white-felted; anther appendages dark brown to blackish; pappus usually snow white... 2. G. crocea .

4b. Leaves ovate to elliptic, broadly cordate at base, lower surface persistently densely white-felted; anther appendages pale yellow; pappus whitish or whitish-tawny... 3. G. wrightii .

2a. Under surface of leaf blades persistently yellowish–brownish felted; rays sometimes yellow:

5a. Leaves suberect, oblanceolate, tapering gradually to base, blades (50–) 95–220 mm long; scapes thickly and densely whitish woolly; involucral bracts attenuate, inner 20–27 mm long... 8. G. grandis .

5b. Leaves suberect to spreading, ovate to narrowly oblong, cordate to cuneate and tapering abruptly to base, blades 18–81 mm long; scapes sparsely to thickly woolly; involucral bracts acute to acuminate, inner up to 19 mm long:

6a. Leaf margins entire, ± involute; plants east of Baviaanskloof... 6. G. ovata .

6b. Leaf margins variously serrate or sinuate, revolute or rarely plane; plants west of Plettenberg Bay:

7a. Leaf blades ± parallel-sided; involucral bracts subseriate (rarely imbricate); rays white or pink; plants east of Montagu... 5. G. serrata .

7b. Leaf blades elliptic to oblanceolate; involucral bracts imbricate; rays white or yellow; plants west of Swellendam... 7. G. tomentosa .