Phymaspermum aphyllum Magee and Ruiters, 2016

6. Phymaspermum aphyllum Magee and Ruiters View in CoL sp. nov. — TYPE: SOUTH AFRICA. Western Cape, Montagu (3320): Along road between Ladismith and Laingsburg, in road reserve (– BD), 2 June 2007, Vlok & Schutte 596 (holotype: NBG!; isotype: K!)

Single-stemmed, very sparsely leafy shrub, 0.5–1.0 m high. Stem much-branched; branches erect to spreading, spinetipped, densely white wooly between ribs; fascicles rarely present in leaf axils. Leaves alternate, very sparse, caducous, apressed to erect, 2.0–20.0 × 0.5 mm, linear, mucronate, revolute, entire, without petiole-like base, without secondary basal lobes, glabrous on both surfaces, fleshy to leathery; basal swelling present, continuous with stem ribs. Capitula radiate, heterogamous, terminal, solitary, with 0–1 additional capitula from leaf axils below, pedunculate; peduncles 25.0–38.0 mm long, silvery pubescent. Involucre 5.0–6.0 × 6.0–9.0 mm, hemispherical, rarely tapering at the base; involucral bracts 4-seriate, tightly arranged, margins and apices scarious, membranous apices of all bracts 0.3–0.5 mm long, silvery villous, brown margins absent, median resin canals present; outer bracts lanceolate, 1.5–1.6 mm long, acute; middle bracts lanceolate, 2.0– 2.2 mm long, acute; inner bracts lanceolate to oblong, 2.5–3.5 mm long, acute to obtuse; innermost bracts oblong, 3.5 mm long, rounded. Receptacle convex; paleae in marginal series, narrowly oblong, 3.0– 4.5 mm long, rounded, scarious. Ray florets 9–10; tube 2.0– 2.8 mm long; limb obovate, 5.7–11.4 × 3.2–4.0 mm, apically 3-dentate, white. Disc florets ± 50, without resin canals; corolla 1.6–2.0 mm long, with only glandular trichomes, yellow; tube 0.7–1.0 mm long; limb campanulate, 0.7–1.8 mm long (excluding lobes); lobes spreading, 0.5–0.7 mm long, triangular. Anthers 2.0– 2.4 mm long (including apical appendage); apical appendage oblong. Style 2.0– 2.2 mm long (excluding branches); branches 0.4 mm long. Cypselas 2.0–2.5 × 0.5–0.8 mm, obovate, 10- to 11-ribbed, api-

7. PHYMASPERMUM APPRESSUM Bolus View in CoL in Trans. S. African Philos. Soc. 16: 139 (1906); Källersjö in Nord. J. Bot 5(6): 535 (1986); K. Bremer and Humphries in Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Lond. (Bot.) 23(2): 94 (1993); Goldblatt and J.C. Manning, Cape Pl.: 352 (2000); Germish. and N.L. Meyer, Pl. S. Afr.: 273 (2003); Klopper et al. Checklist of the flowering plants of Sub-Saharan Africa: 147 (2006); Germish. et al. Checklist S. African Pl.: 243 (2006).— TYPE: SOUTH AFRICA. Western Cape, Oudtshoorn (3322): Swartberg Pass (–AC), December 1904, Bolus 11551 (lectotype: BOL sheet 139059!, designated here; isolectotypes: BOL!, BR–image!, E–image!,GRA–image! two sheets, K–image! two sheets, M–image! two sheets, MO–image!, PRE two sheets, SAM!). [Note: This specimen in BOL is designated here as it is from the author’ s own herbarium and is annotated by Bolus as “Typus auctoris!”.]

Single-stemmed, densely leafy shrublet, 0.3–1.2 m high. Stem much-branched; branches erect to spreading, glabrous to silvery tomentose; fascicles present in leaf axils. Leaves alternate, closely imbricate, appressed, 1.0–3.0 × 0.5–2.0 mm, ovate to lanceolate, acute to mucronate, entire, without petiole-like base, without secondary basal lobes, glabrous on both surfaces, bony; basal swelling present, continuous with stem ribs. Capitula radiate, heterogamous, terminal on short axillary shoots, solitary, with 0–3 additional capitula from leaf axils below, prominent peduncles absent. Involucre 4.0–7.0 × 4.0–8.0 mm, hemispherical to cyathiform, tapering at the base; involucral bracts 3-seriate, tightly arranged, margins and apices scarious, membranous apices of all bracts 0.7–1.0 mm long, scarious texture, brown margins absent, median resin canals present; outer bracts broadly ovate sometimes oblong, 2.5–3.0 mm long, rounded; middle bracts broadly obovate sometimes oblong, 3.0– 3.5 mm long, rounded; inner bracts narrowly obovate sometimes oblong, 4.3–4.5 mm long, rounded. Receptacle convex to flat; paleae in marginal series, linear, 3.8–4.0 mm long, rounded, scarious. Ray florets 11–14; tube 1.7–2.0 mm long; limb ovate to obovate, 7.0–8.5 × 2.7–3.0 mm, apically 3-dentate, rarely entire sometimes with longer middle tooth, white to purple. Disc florets 22–47, without resin canals; corolla 2.0– 2.3 mm long, with only glandular trichomes, yellow to purple; tube 0.9–1.0 mm long; limb very narrowly campanulate, 1.0– 1.2 mm long (excluding lobes); lobes erect, 0.3–0.5 mm long, triangular. Anthers 2.4–4.3 mm long (including apical appendage); apical appendage ovate. Style 2.2–3.8 mm long (excluding branches); branches 0.4–1.9 mm long. Cypselas 2.0 × 0.5 mm, narrowly obovate, 12-ribbed, apical rim thickened, slightly dentate, brown, glandular trichomes present, dense, mostly between ribs, mucilaginous when soaked, discontinuous resin canals in ribs absent. Figure 10 View FIG .

Diagnostic Characters — Phymaspermum appressum is easily recognised by the prominently appressed leaves, entirely scarious involucral bracts and purplish ray florets. It can only be confused with the closely related P. oppositifolium , from which it differs in the alternate leaves, the hemispherical to cyathiform involucres, and the ovate to obovate involucral bracts.

Distribution and Ecology — Phymaspermum appressum is endemic to sandstone slopes and ridges above 940 m within the Little Karoo, from Anysberg to the Witteberg ( Fig. 10G View FIG ). Flowering is from April to December.

Additional Specimens Examined — SOUTH AFRICA. Western Cape: 3320 (Montagu): Laingsburg, Wittepoort (–BB), Compton 11834 (BOL,

NBG); Anysberg Nature Reserve, at start of Prince’ s Poort (–BC), Germishuizen 6615 (PRE); south slopes of Anysberg, Ladismith (–BC), Wurts 1411 (NBG); Buffels Poort Bay, Ladismith (–BD), Levyns 7429 (BOL). 3321 (Ladismith): Towerkop State Forest, at Besemfontein, near hut (–AD), Hoekstra 76 (PRE); Klein Swartberg above Besemfontein, mountains just E of Seweweekspoort (–AD), Oliver 9698 (NBG); south slope of Elandsberg range, N of Klein Swartberg (–AD), Wurts 1509 (NBG); Gamka Mountain Reserve, Zebra ridge, eastern sector (–DB), Cattell and Cattell 99 (PRE). 3322 (Oudtshoorn): Swartberg Pass (–AC), Bolus 1052 (M–image), Levyns 5037 (BOL), Tyson 12796 (SAM), Zietsman and Zietsman 1689 (PRE), Esterhuysen 4515 (BOL); Prince Albert (–AC), Stokoe 57099 (SAM two sheets); Prince Albert, Swartberg Pass, north side (–AC), Acocks 15529 (PRE), Jackson 14 (BOL), Bond 1540 (PRE); near summit, Goldblatt and Porter 12477 (NBG); Hiking trail from Malvadraai, Goldblatt and Porter 11851 (NBG); Swartberg Pass, Teeberg lookout point (–AC), Magee and Boatwright 369 (NBG); Top of Boshuise pass, Prince Albert (–AC), Levyns 11160 (BOL); east slopes of Platberg (–AC), Stirton 10321 (NBG).