Nolletia welmaniae P.P.J.Herman, 2013

Herman, Paul P. J., 2013, Cypsela morphology in the genus Nolletia (Asteraceae, Astereae) and a revision of the genus, Phytotaxa 122 (1), pp. 1-44 : 22-24

6. Nolletia welmaniae P.P.J.Herman sp. nov. ( Fig. 9 )

Similar to N. rarifolia and N. ruderalis but leaves persistently ciliate and with an occasional hair on leaf surfaces. Also similar to N. jeanettae but peduncles glabrous and inflorescences arranged in loose terminal corymbs. Superficially very similar to N. zambesica but cypselae with oblong epicarpic cells.

Type:— NAMIBIA. Kunene, Kaokoveld, Etengua–Baynes Mountains road, (QDS: 1712 DB Posto Velho), 1 February 2009, Klaassen et al. EK1964 (holotype WIND!) .

Virgate suffrutex, up to 0.5 m tall, branched at the base into few, long, initially simple stems, scattered leafy, branching upwards into loose corymbose inflorescences. Stems woody at base, bark brown, herbaceous and green upwards; sparsely appressed pubescent, glabrescent upwards to almost totally glabrous below capitula; with tufts of hairs in axils of leaves. Leaves alternate, sessile, linear, up to 40 × (1.0–)1.5(–2.0) mm, smaller upwards passing into bracts; apex bluntly acute; margins entire, ciliate, sometimes with few hairs on main vein on lower surface and on rest of surfaces, otherwise glabrous. Capitula 10 mm in diameter, arranged in loose, terminal corymbs. Involucre campanulate. Involucral bracts imbricate, arranged in 4 rows, glabrous, with yellow or almost black oil sacs along midline, totally recurved and persistent after flowering; outer row narrowly ovate to narrowly triangular, acute, 1.8 × 0.5 mm; second row narrowly ovate, acute to acuminate, 2.0–2.5 × 0.5 mm, margins narrowly membranous, sparsely fimbriate; third row narrowly obovate, acuminate, 3.0–3.5 × 0.5–0.8 mm, margins membranous, fimbriate; inner row narrowly obovate, acuminate, 3–4 × 0.5– 0.6 mm, margins membranous, fimbriate. Receptacle epaleate, foveolate. Outer female florets in 1 row, fertile, filiform; tube 1.5–2.0 mm long, with 1 enlarged lobe and 4 smaller lobes; with many glandular hairs in upper two-thirds, sometimes a few twin hairs on tube; corolla yellow. Style 2.2–2.5 mm long, bifurcate; style branches linear-elliptic, 0.5–1.0 mm long, obtuse; stigmatic areas marginal, confluent at apex. Cypsela and pappus as in disc florets. Disc florets regular, bisexual, fertile; tubular below, widening slightly upwards, tube 2.5–3.0 mm long, with many glandular hairs in upper two-thirds; 5-lobed, lobes 0.5 mm long; corolla yellow. Anthers 1.5 mm long with narrowly ovate apical appendage; slightly calcarate at base, ecaudate. Style 2.5–3.0 mm long, bifurcate; style branches narrowly elliptic, 0.8–1.0 mm long; stigmatic areas marginal, not confluent at apex, with broadish ovate, papillate appendages. Cypsela brown, obovoid, laterally flattened, with thickened margin, 2 × 1 mm ( Fig. 1E ); with longish twin hairs, twin hairs unequal in length, apices acute; epicarpic cells oblong, arranged in parallel rows. Pappus of many barbellate bristles, 3–4 mm long. Flowering time: January and February.

Distribution and habitat: —Known from only two localities in northern Namibia and southern Angola ( Fig. 7 ), on rocky outcrops. The conservation status of this species is not currently known.

Discussion: —Similar to N. rarifolia and N. ruderalis but in N. welmaniae the leaves are persistently ciliate and with an occasional hair on the leaf surfaces, whereas in N. rarifolia the leaves are glabrous to sparsely spreading pubescent and in N. ruderalis the leaves are always glabrous. Also similar to N. jeanettae but in that species the upper part of the stem and the peduncle always have stipitate glands and the capitula are solitary at the ends of the branches. In N. welmaniae the peduncles are glabrous and the inflorescences are arranged in loose terminal corymbs. Superficially very similar to N. zambesica but in that species the stems and leaves are appressed pubescent and the cypselae have circular epicarpic cells.

Figueiredo & Beentje (2008) did not list any Nolletia species for Angola. This would then represent a new record for that country.

Etymology: —Named for my colleague, Ms W.G. (Mienkie) Welman, who has been responsible for the curation of inter alia the family Asteraceae in PRE for many years, and who was my tutor when I started working on the family Asteraceae .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Cypselae of Nolletia species as seen under the stereomicroscope: (A) N. gariepina (Warren 78, PRE); (B) N. tenuifolia (Giess 10863, PRE); (C) N. ciliaris (Jacot Guillarmod 377, PRE); (D) N. jeanettae (Bester 8534, PRE); (E) N. welmaniae (Winter 7649, PRE); (F) N. rarifolia (Van Hoepen 1825, PRE); (G) N. ruderalis (Compton 27385, PRE); (H) N. vanhoepeniae (Koekemoer 3899, PRE); (I) N. zambesica (Maguire 1693, PRE); (J) N. chrysocomoides (Merxmüller & Giess 3579, PRE); (K) N. annetjieae (Van Rooyen 3714, PRE). Photographs by P.P.J. Herman.

FIGURE 7. Known geographical distribution of N. ciliaris (̝) and N. welmaniae (●). The grey triangle representing Ngamiland as there was no specific locality.

FIGURE 9. Scanned image of the holotype of N. welmaniae P.P.J.Herman(Klaassen et al. EK1964, WIND).