Festuca caprina var. caprina Nees, Fl. Afr. Austral. Ill. 443. 1841. Festuca nubigena subsp. caprina (Nees) St.-Yves, Rev. Bretonne Bot. Pure Appl. 2: 79. 1927.

Sylvester, Steven P., Soreng, Robert J., Sylvester, Mitsy D. P. V. & Clark, Vincent Ralph, 2020, Festuca drakensbergensis (Poaceae): A common new species in the F. caprina complex from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism, southern Africa, with key and notes on taxa in the complex including the overlooked F. exaristata, PhytoKeys 162, pp. 45-69 : 45

Festuca caprina var. caprina Nees, Fl. Afr. Austral. Ill. 443. 1841. Festuca nubigena subsp. caprina (Nees) St.-Yves, Rev. Bretonne Bot. Pure Appl. 2: 79. 1927. Fig. 3 , Table 1

Type.

South Africa. [Eastern Cape:] Table mountain, Queenstown Dev., Los-Tafelberg, 5000-6000 ft [1524-1829 m alt.], [1840], [flowering in December], D.F. Drége s.n. (lectotype, designated by Alexeev 1986: 1115: K (K000345257 [image!]; isolectotypes: K (K000345258 [image!]), LE (LE00009757 [image!]); syntypes: South Africa. Plantes du Cap, Los Tafelberg, 5000-6000 ft [1524-1829 m alt.], 7 Dec 1832, D.F. Drége 8.e.3920 (P (P00434763 [image!])); [South Africa] Afr. Austr. D.F. Drége s.n. (L (L1262355 [image!])); South Africa. Los Tafelberg, Dec 1826-1834, D.F. Drége s.n. (HAL (HAL0106999 [image!))).

= Festuca caprina var. curvula Nees, Fl. Afr. Austral. Ill. 1: 443. 1841. Type: South Africa. [Eastern Cape:] [Monte] Los Tafelberg, an steinigen Oetern, 5000-6000 ft [1524-1829 m alt.], [flowering in December], D.F. Drége s.n. (lectotype, designated here: S (S-G-6704 right-hand plant annotated with ‘b’ [image!]); syntype: South Africa. Plantes du Cap, D.F. Drége 8.e.3920? (P (P00434764 [image!])).

= Festuca costata var. longiseta Nees, Fl. Afr. Austral. Ill. 1: 447. 1841. Type: South Africa. [Eastern Cape:] Stockenstrom Division, Katberg, [4000-5000 ft; 1219-1524 m alt.], 1840, D.F. Drége s.n. (lectotype, designated by Alexeev 1986: 1115: K (K000345256 [image!]); isolectotype: K (K000345255 [image!])).

Notes.

Alexeev (1986) separated F. caprina from F. macra (= F. caprina var. macra ) based, in part, on the basal sheaths being fibrous. However, all type or original material of F. caprina , including the lectotype of F. caprina var. caprina designated by Alexeev (1986), had entire, often lustrous, basal sheaths apart from var. irrasa , which were obviously fibrous. The protologue mentions basal sheaths to be fibrous and, as such, Alexeev (1986) may have made an error in his choice of lectotype. Nevertheless, as only the type material of var. irrasa , which was designated by Stapf (1900), has fibrous basal sheaths, this also raises questions over the accuracy of the description in the protologue for var. caprina . If we treat F. caprina var. caprina based on the K lectotype and isolectotype designated by Alexeev (1986) then var. caprina should be considered as having entire basal sheaths that do not split into fibres. Oddly, the inflorescences of all var. caprina specimens studied had a distinct butter-like smell upon the opening of specimen press papers, which then quickly dissipated. This odour was barely to sometimes slightly susceptible in specimens of F. caprina var. macra or var. irrasa or F. drakensbergensis . It remains to be seen whether this character is diagnostic and what phytochemical compounds are involved.

Festuca caprina var. caprina is more common at lower elevations in the Drakensberg Mountain Centre ( Carbutt 2019) and surrounding mountainous habitats of southern Africa and extends from southern Africa to Tanzania. The species appears to prefer more mesic Afro-alpine and Afro-montane grasslands and is outcompeted by F. caprina var. macra in the drier summit area of the high escarpment in the DMC. Of the 222 2 m × 2 m plots studied for all vascular plants across the Afro-alpine DMC (Sylvester et al. unpubl. data), F. caprina var. caprina was rarely encountered, being found in only 13 plots from the Eastern Cape and Free State. The species was usually encountered in lower elevation Afro-montane transitioning to Afro-alpine grasslands at ca. 2500-2700 m alt. or exceptionally at higher elevations to 2981 m alt. in damper shaded sites, highlighting its very low frequency and commonality in the high-elevation xeric Afro-alpine zone of the DMC.

Festuca caprina var. curvula is also herein lectotypified. In the protologue, Nees von Esenbeck (1841: 443) only cited a single Drége s.n. collection from monte Los-Tafelberg, 6000 ft (1829 m alt.), which is assumed to be the same type locality as var. caprina that was found in Los-Tafelberg of the Eastern Cape Province, near Queenstown. Nees von Esenbeck (1841: 443) labelled var. caprina and var. curvula ‘a’ and ‘b’, respectively, with the S-G-6704 right hand plant chosen as lectotype based on this matching the protologue information and being the only specimen sheet amongst the original material to be annotated with an ‘a’ and ‘b’ in Nees von Esenbeck’s cursive handwriting. The right-hand plant annotated with ‘b’ fitted the protologue description of var. curvula , with Nees differentiating the variety based on its shorter height, curved blades and subsecund panicle branches with few purplish spikelets. One specimen amongst the original material, D.F. Drége 8.e.3920? (P00434764), also had ‘Curvula’ written on the label but limited locality information aside from 'Plantes du Cap’ and is here considered a syntype of var. curvula as it also fits the description given in the protologue. While the differentiating characters of F. caprina var. curvula are also found in F. drakensbergensis , we deduce that var. curvula is a slight variation from the norm in F. caprina as neither the type specimens designated herein, nor any of the other original material from the type locality, can be attributed to F. drakensbergensis based on their lacking extravaginal branching and cataphyllous shoots as well as having entire lustrous basal sheaths.

Selected specimens examined.

South Africa. Eastern Cape: Naudes Nek pass, near Rhodes, 30.764792S, 28.105164E, 2588 m alt., Afro-alpine tussock grassland, low rock outcrop, 13 Feb 2020, S.P. Sylvester et al. 3492 (NU, PRE, US); Free State: Witsieshoek, at beginning of Sentinel trail by parking lot, path-side, 28.733181S, 28.893296E, 2607 m alt., 5 Feb 2020, S.P. Sylvester et al. 3418 (US); Free State: Witsieshoek, Sentinel trail, along beginning of trail that leads to the chain ladders that take you up to Amphitheatre, path-side, 28.736207S, 28.894084E, 2693 m alt., 5 Feb 2020, S.P. Sylvester et al. 3416 (US); Free State: Golden Gate National Park, summit of Wodehouse Peak, 14 Jan 1975, R.P. Ellis 2383 (PRE0464133); KwaZulu-Natal: Amphitheatre, slopes near the Tugela waterfall, Afro-alpine grassland, 28.750810S, 28.888942 E, 2981 m alt., 5 Feb 2020, S.P. Sylvester et al. 3409a (US); KwaZulu-Natal: Sentinel Trail, off the main trail at the top of an east facing gully ca. 1 km from the chain ladders, 28.743162S, 28.888205E, 2953 m alt., shaded Afro-montane grassland grading into Afro-alpine grassland, damp soil, rarely grazed, 6 Mar 2020, S.P. Sylvester et al. 3713 (NU, PRE, US).

Figures

Figure 3. Festuca caprina var. caprina. A Whole plant B abaxial leaf blade surface of tiller C, D spikelet, lateral view. A, B, D of S. P. Sylvester et al. 3492 (US) C of S. P. Sylvester et al. 3492 (PRE).