Kalanchoe Adanson (1763: 248) subg. Kitchingia (Baker) Smith & Figueiredo (2018: 169)

Smith, Gideon F., Klein, David-Paul & Shtein, Ronen, 2021, A revision of the Malagasy Kalanchoe subg. Kitchingia (Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae): history, taxonomy, and nomenclature, Phytotaxa 507 (1), pp. 67-80 : 72-74

Kalanchoe Adanson (1763: 248) subg. Kitchingia (Baker) Smith & Figueiredo (2018: 169) .

Basionym:— Kitchingia Baker (1881: 268) . Homotypic synonyms:— Kalanchoe sect. Kitchingia (Baker) Boiteau (1947: 7) , pro parte; Bryophyllum Salisbury (1805 : t. 3) subg. Kitchingia (Baker) Byalt (2008: 462) , pro parte. Type:— Kitchingia gracilipes Baker (1881: 268) (lectotype), designated by Smith & Figueiredo (2018: 169), accepted name Kalanchoe gracilipes (Baker) Baillon (1885: 469) .

Heterotypic synonym:— Kalanchoe subg. Calophygia Descoings (2006a: 24) , pro parte, excl. type.

Infrasubgeneric designations not validly published:—‘ Kalanchoe [sect. Kitchingia ] subsect. Sylvaticae ’ Boiteau (1947: 7, 8), nom. inval. Under Turland et al. (2018: Art. 39.1) this designation was not validly published as it lacked a Latin description or diagnosis. Furthermore, Boiteau (1947) did not indicate which of the species he assigned to Kalanchoe sect. Kitchingia he included in ‘ Kalanchoe [sect. Kitchingia ] subsect. Sylvaticae ’.

‘ Kalanchoe [sect. Kitchingia ] subsect. Sylvaticae ’ Boiteau & Mannoni (1948: 8), nom. inval. Under Turland et al. (2018: Art. 39.1) this designation was not validly published as it lacked a Latin description or diagnosis. Boiteau & Mannoni (1948: 7) explicitly included Kalanchoe gracilipes and its basionym, Kitchingia gracilipes , the type of Kitchingia and of Kalanchoe subg. Kitchingia (see above), in this proposed subsection (see also Turland et al. 2018: Rec. 22A.1). Note though that types are for names, not designations.

Description:—Terrestrial or epiphytic, perennial, herbaceous, glabrous to pubescent, non-pruinose, pendent to erect, succulent subshrubs of forests of southern, central and northern Madagascar (see ‘Distribution’ below). Stems rather thin, somewhat wiry, flexuose. Leaves numerous, succulent, cauline-dispersed, opposite, with distinct petiole; margins crenate. Inflorescences terminal, few-branched, sparsely-flowered, cymose. Neither leaves nor inflorescences bulbiliferous. Pedicels widening towards calyx. Flowers tetramerous, rather large and elongate, pendulous, colourful; calyx short, much smaller than and not obscuring corolla, basally rounded; sepals rather small, deltoid to ovate, ± distinctly basally fused or fused for ± ½ of their lengths; corolla thin, sometimes externally hairy; tube rather elongated, campanulate-cylindrical, up to 4 or 5 times longer than calyx, not constricted around ovaries, short-lobed; lobes semi-round to ovate, apiculate, slightly spreading. Stamens all adpressed internally to corolla tube, inserted above middle of corolla tube; anthers ± exserted, at least visible at corolla mouth. Carpels small, oblong, free, distinctly divergent-spreading from base ( Fig. 4A); styles about three times longer than carpels; nectar scales free, slightly longer (<2×) to slightly shorter (<2×) than wide, semicircular to almost square to rectangular, never linear, slightly emarginate to indented above. Follicles many-seeded.

Distribution:—Forested areas of northern, central, and southern Madagascar, including the Tsaratanana range [ Kalanchoe peltata var. stapfii ], and the Andohahela range [ Kalanchoe gracilipes var. microphylla ] ( Fig. 3).

Taxa included:—Five. Two species, one with one variety excluding the autonym, and one with two varieties excluding the autonym, i.e., Kalanchoe gracilipes , Kalanchoe gracilipes var. microphylla , Kalanchoe peltata , Kalanchoe peltata var. stapfii , and Kalanchoe peltata var. mandrakensis .

Note:—Representatives of Kalanchoe subg. Kitchingia differ from Kalanchoe campanulata and other campanulateflowered, herbaceous, species from the forests of Madagascar, e.g. Kalanchoe miniata , Kalanchoe manginii Hamet & Perrier de la Bâthie (1912: 370) , and Kalanchoe rebmannii Descoings (2006b: 29) , by lacking red-to-dark coloured vein patterns internally adorning the corolla (visible at the mouth), by lacking the ability to form inflorescence bulbil clusters, and by having fully divergent carpels ( Fig. 4).