Austronea papillosa Mart.

Martínez-Azorín, Mario, Crespo, Manuel B., Alonso-Vargas, María Ángeles, Dold, Anthony P., Pinter, Michael & Wetschnig, Wolfgang, 2018, Austronea (Asparagaceae, Scilloideae), a new genus from southern Africa, including the description of seven new species, Phytotaxa 365 (2), pp. 101-129 : 121-123

6. Austronea papillosa Mart. -Azorín, M.B.Crespo, M.Pinter & M.A.Alonso sp. nov. ( Fig. 12 )

Ab Austronea virenti accedens foliis subteretis anguste linearibus suberectibusque, sed hac facile distinguenda foliis saepissime brevioribus 8–18 mm long. (nec multo longioribus), minute papillatis (nec laevibus glabrisque), pedunculo inflorescentiae et pedicellis floralibus tamen cum papillis patentibus ca. 0.1 mm long. dense obsitis (nec laevibus glabrisque); et ovario aurantiaco vel cinnamomeo, ellipsoideo, 3.5–4.2 mm long. (nec ovoideo et multo breviore).

Type:— SOUTH AFRICA. Northern Cape. Gamoep (2918): Naib se Berg , central section, on way to south facing entrance of main kloof (- AD), elev. 916 m, lower slopes covered with quartz, 28 September 2015 (in flower), M. Martínez-Azorín, M. Pinter, M. B. Crespo & M. A. Alonso MMA1260 (holotype, GRA!; isotype, ABH74112 !) .

Herbaceous deciduous geophyte. Bulb hypogeal, solitary, ovoid to subglobose, 14–18 × 13–15 mm, extended into a short hypogeal neck up to 0.5 cm long, with pale brown membranous outer tunics and white fleshy tightly packed inner tunics. Roots fleshy, white, branched, 5–15 × 0.4–0.7 mm. Leaves 3–9, withered or almost withered at flowering time, aerial portion 8–18 × 1 mm, linear, subterete, slightly flattened on the adaxial side, green, somewhat leathery, with scarce minute papillae, flattened and longitudinally striate when dry. Inflorescence nodding in bud, raceme 2–6 mm long, capitate or subcorymbose, with 3–10 flowers; peduncle 9–14 cm long, erect, flexuouse, covered by elongate, patent papillae ca. 0.1 mm long along the whole length; pedicels 2–5 mm long at anthesis, spreading, covered by the same papillae than the peduncle; bracts ovate-lanceolate, ca. 0.8 mm long, clasping the pedicels, spurred, the lowermost with a spur up to 1.5 mm long, membranous, white with a central darker band. Flowers pentacyclic, trimerous, stellate, opening in the afternoon and withered in the evening, only 1–2 flowers open at a time, flower buds pale orange; tepals 6, entire, white with pinkish-orange tinge on the adaxial side with a pale orange to cinnamom coloured longitudinal central band on the abaxial side, glandulous at the apex, biseriate, outer overlapping inner at the base, connate for 1–1.5 mm to form a cup, free portions spreading; outer tepals oblong, 5–5.2 × 1.6–1.8 mm; inner tepals oblong-lanceolate, 5–5.5 × 1.5–1.6 mm; both outer and inner with margins slightly revolute at anthesis. Stamens 6, spreading, adnate to perigone for ca. 1 mm; filaments white, fleshy, subterete or slightly flattened and attenuate to the apex, 3.1–3.3 × 0.4 mm, smooth; anthers yellow, oblong, ca. 1 mm long before dehiscence, dehiscing by longitudinal slits, with yellow pollen. Ovary orange to cinnamom colour, narrowly ovoid-lanceolate, distinctly elongated, somewhat truncate to the style, 3.5–4.2 × 1.4–1.5 mm; style white, columnar, 1.2–1.3 mm long, slightly curved or sinuous, slightly thickened at the apex, trigonous in transversal section; stigma small, capitate and slightly papillate. Capsule ovoid-globose, loculicide, valves splitting to the base, with the withered perigone segments circumscissile below and forming an apical cap. Seeds unknown.

Etymology:—Named after the distinctly papillose peduncle and pedicels together with the scarcely papillose leaves.

Phenology:— Austronea papillosa flowers around September in the wild at the type locality.

Habitat:—This species grows on gentle, quartz-covered slopes of the SKr18 Bushmanland Inselberg Shrubland and SKr19 Aggeneys Gravel Vygieveld the Bushmanland, and on surface shale rubble of the SKn2 Namaqualand Shale Shrubland in the the Skaap River region, west of Springbok. The area is characterised by winter-rainfall regime, with precipitation peaking between May and August precipitation and MAP (for various vegetation units) ranging from 120 to 200 mm and MAT of 16–17ºC, and with variable incidence of frost ( Mucina & Rutherford 2006).

Distribution:— Austronea papillosa is only known from the northwestern Northern Cape Province in South Africa, around the Naib se Berge and the Skaap River NW of Nababeep near Springbok ( Fig. 6 ).

Diagnostic characters and taxonomic relationships:— Austronea papillosa shows a unique combination of morphological characters, such as the 3–9, narrowly linear, subterete leaves with scarce minute papillae; the elongated peduncle and pedicels covered by patent papillae ca. 0.1 mm long along the whole length; flowers white with a pinkish-orange tinge; tepals ca. 5 mm long, connate for 1–1.5 mm to form a cup, and spreading free portions; and ovary orange to cinnamon colour, narrowly ovoid-lanceolate, much longer than wide; and a white, short style. This species is unique in the genus in having distinctly papillate penducle and flower pedicels. Moreover, flower and gynoecium morphology is also unique. The narrowly linear, suberect, almost terete leaves approach A. pygmaea and A. virens , although both those species show smooth pedicels and upper portions of penduncle. Furthermore, the latter species usually shows much longer leaves. Austronea pygmaea and A. virens are restricted to the mountains in the western regions of the Western Cape Province and Cape Peninsula.

Additional material studied (paratypes):— SOUTH AFRICA. Northern Cape. Springbok (2917): Nababeep, Skaap River, NW of Nababeep (-DA), elev. 500 m, 16 November 2001 (in flower), P.V. Bruyns 8914A (NBG195966!).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Distribution of Austronea species in southern Africa. A. densiflora Mart.-Azorín et al. (red circle), A. grandiflora Mart.- Azorín et al. (blue square), A. hispidoplicata Mart.-Azorín et al. (yellow triangle) and A. papillosa Mart.-Azorín et al. (green diamond).

FIGURE 12. Austronea papillosa Mart.-Azorín et al. from Naib se Berg (type locality), Northern Cape, South Africa, in flower on 28 September 2015 corresponding to MMA1260 and with leaves in cultivation in Alicante (Spain) on 3 February 2018. A. Inflorescence; B. Flower, frontal view; C. Flowers, lateral and dorsal views; D. Dissected flower and gynoecium, lateral views; E. Plants in flower; F. Bulb with withered leaves; G. Detail of withered leaves; H. Bulb with fresh leaves. Scale bars: A–D, G: 5 mm; E–F, H: 1 cm.