Romulea

Manning, John C. & Goldblatt, Peter, 2001, the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra including new species, biological notes, and a new infrageneric classification, Adansonia (3) 23 (1), pp. 59-108 : 62-64

Sect. 2. Ciliatae

Ser. Ciliatae

7. R. schlechteri 24 1b 0 0 0 0 0

8. R. saxatilis c. 28 1b 0 0 0 0 0

9. R. vinacea 24 1b 1 0 0 0 0

10. R. flexuosa c. 24 1b 0 0 0 0 0

11. R. tabularis 24 1b 0 0 0 0 0

12. R. leipoldtii 24 1b 0 0 0 0 0

13. R. biflora 24 1b 0 0 0 0 0

14. R. namaquensis 26 1b 1 0 0 0 0

15. R. kamisensis c. 26 1b 1 0 0 0 0

16. R. rupestris ? 1b 0 1 1 0 0

17. R. neglecta ? 1b 0 1 1 0 0

18. R. maculata ? 1b 0 1 1 0?

19. R. pearsonii ? 1b 0 1 1 0 0

20. R. tetragona 26 1b 0 1 1 0 0

21. R. citrina 24 1b 0 0 1 0 0

22. R. montana 24 1b 0 0 0 0 0

23. R. toximontana c. 28 1b 0 0 0 0 0

24. R. sulphurea ? 1b 1 0 0 0 0

25. R. elliptica 24 1b 0 0 0 0 0

26. R. flava 24 1b 0 0 0 0 0

27. R. saldanhensis 24 1b 0 0 0 0 0

28. R. barkerae ? 1b 0 0 0 0 0

Ser. Minutiflorae

29. R. minutiflora 26 1b 0 1 1 0 0

30. R. sinispinosensis c. 50 1b 0 0 1 0 0

Ser. Aquaticae

31. R. multisulcata 24 1b 0 0 1 0 0

32. R. aquatica 24 1b 0 1 1 0

Ser. Stellanthe

33. R. stellata ? 1b 1 0 0 0 0

Ser. Tortuosae

34. R. macowanii c. 32 1b 1 0 0 0 0

35. R. austinii 30 1b 1 0 0 0 0

36. R. tortuosa 30 1b 1 0 0 0 1

37. R. sphaerocarpa c.30, 32 1b 1 0 0 0 0

species. As in all Crocoideae the inner bract is a paired structure whose nature is evident by the notched apex and two-veined or two-keeled surface.

Flowers of most species of Romulea are remarkably similar except for pigmentation which is very varied ( Fig. 2 A-H). The perianth is cupshaped with a short perianth tube, narrow below and widening fairly abruptly into a flared upper part ( Figs. 3 , 4 ). The six tepals are cupped below and spreading horizontally above. Coloring ranges from uniformly yellow to white, pink, orange, red, or purple, usually with a yellow cup. Dark markings are common on the lower part of the tepals, thus below the rim of the cup. A notable exception to the standard perianth shape are the hypocrateriform flowers of R. albiflora ( Fig. 5 ), R. hantamensis , R. stellata , and R. syringodeoflora . In these species the perianth tube is elongate and of uniform diameter and the tepals spread horizontally from the top of the tube. The stamens are included in the floral cup and are usually contiguous and coherent while the style divides into three deeply divided style arms or branches at about mid anther level or shortly above the anther tips. In those species with an elongate tube the stamens and style are fully exserted from the flower. Despite the similarity of their flowers species with a hypocrateriform perianth are evidently not closely related and they have different corm types, leaf anatomy and chromosome numbers.

Figures

Fig. 2. — Flowers of Romulea species: A, R. tabularis; B, R. saldanhensis; C, R. tortuosa; D, R. sabulosa; E, R. eximia; F, R. sulphurea; G, R. namaquensis; H, R. komsbergensis.

Fig. 3. — Morphology of Romulea discifera: full size, detail of the stamens and style branches, seed, and transverse section of the leaf much enlarged (Goldblatt & Manning 11075). Drawn by John MANNING.

Fig. 4. — Morphology of Romulea lilacina: detail of the stamens and style branches and transverse section of the leaf much enlarged (Manning 2252). Drawn by John MANNING.

Fig. 5. — Morphology of Romulea albiflora: with transverse section of the leaf much enlarged (Goldblatt & Manning 10367). Drawn by John MANNING.