Phymaspermum comptonii Magee and Ruiters, 2016

15. Phymaspermum comptonii Magee and Ruiters View in CoL sp. nov. — TYPE: SWAZILAND. Mbabane (2631): Bomvu ridge (– AA), 25 Mar. 1964, Compton 32016 (holotype: NBG!; isotype: PRE- 2 sheets!)

Multistemmed, densely leafy shrublet, 0.75–1.0 m high. Stems few-branched; branches erect to spreading, sparsely to densely silvery tomentose to villous, sometimes with purplish tinge; fascicles present in leaf axils. Leaves alternate, spreading to erect, 7.0–15.0 × 0.5–1.0 mm, linear when undissected, mucronate, involute, entire to pinnatifid, narrowed into petiole-like base, without secondary basal lobes, sparsely to densely silvery villous on both surfaces, fleshy; basal swelling present, continuous with stem ribs; lobes 3, 4.0–15.0 × 0.5–1.5 mm, linear, mucronate. Capitula discoid, homogamous, terminal, few- to many-headed (10–50), simple to compound corymbs, pedunculate; peduncles 5.0–60.0 mm long, silvery tomentose. Involucre 4.0–6.0 × 3.0–4.0 mm, cyathiform to campanulate, sometimes tapering at the base; involucral bracts 3-seriate, loosely arranged, margins and apices scarious, membranous apices of bracts two and three 0.3–0.5 mm long, villous, brown margins absent, median resin canals present (resulting in a distinct dark red line in the centre of each bract); outer bracts lanceolate, 3.0 mm long, acuminate; middle bracts lanceolate, 3.6–3.9 mm long, acuminate; inner bracts lanceolate, 4.0– 4.3 mm long, acuminate to rounded. Receptacle convex; paleae usually in 2 marginal series, linear to oblong, 4.3–4.6 mm long, rounded, rigid with scarious apices, scarious apices ±1.0 mm long. Disc florets ± 22, without resin canals; corolla 2.4–2.6 mm long, with only glandular trichomes, yellow; tube 1.3–1.4 mm long; limb campanulate, 0.8 mm long (excluding lobes); lobes spreading, 0.6–0.8 mm long, triangular. Anthers ± 3.1 mm long (including apical appendage); apical appendage oblong to lanceolate. Style ± 2.0 mm long (excluding branches); branches ± 0.5 mm long. Cypselas 1.6 × 0.4 mm, oblong to obovate, 10- to 12-ribbed, apical rim thickened, slightly dentate, glandular trichomes present, sparse, scattered, not mucilaginous when soaked, discontinuous resin canals in ribs rarerly present. Figure 18 View FIG .

Diagnostic Characters — Phymaspermum comptonii shares the fleshy silver sericeous leaves with P. argenteum , but is here distinguished by the cyathiform to campanulate involucres and lanceolate, loosely appressed involucral bracts with prominent rounded, scarious appendages (involucres narrowly campanulate and involucral bracts tightly apressed with prominent brown margins in P. argenteum ).

Distribution and Ecology — Phymaspermum comptonii is a near endemic of Swaziland, extending slightly over the South African border around Barberton ( Fig. 18F View FIG ). It grows in grassland at an altitude of 1,100 –1,700 m. Flowering is from December to May.

Additional Specimens Examined — SOUTH AFRICA. Mpumalanga: 2531 (Komatipoort): Barberton Mountainlands Nature Reserve (–CC), Burrows 8119 (PRE); Ida Dayer Nature Reserve 38 km SE of Barberton (–CC), Muller 2057 (PRE).

SWAZILAND. 2631 (Mbabane): Mbabane Forbes Reef, Ngwenya mountains near Oshoek border with South Africa, Bomvu Ridge old iron ore mine on path to Bushmen cave, on SW slope as one exits excavated part (– AA), Brusse 6335 ( PRE); Bomvu Ridge (– AA); Compton 31199 ( PRE), Compton 28823 ( PRE two sheets).

16. PHYMASPERMUM PINNATIFIDUM (Oliv.) Källersjö View in CoL in Nordic J. Bot. 5(6): 535 (1986); K. Bremer and Humphries in Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Lond. (Bot.) 23(2): 94 (1993) ; Germish. and N.L. Meyer, Pl. S. Afr.: 274 (2003) ; Klopper et al. Checklist of the flowering plants of Sub- Saharan Africa: 147 (2006) ; Germish. et al. Checklist S. African Pl.: 243 (2006). Pentzia pinnatifida Oliv. in Hooker’ s Icon. Pl. 14. 28, plate 1340 (1881) ; Hutch. in Kew. Bull. 1916. 10: 253 (1917). Athanasia pinnatifida (Oliv.) Hilliard in Hilliard and B.L. Burtt, Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 32 (3): 330–331 (1973) ; Hilliard , Compositae in Natal : 342 (1977). —TYPE: SOUTH AFRICA. KwaZulu Natal , Pietermaritzburg (2930): Inanda (– DB), Aug. 1879, Wood 168 (lectotype: K sheet 000410760–image!, designated here; isolectotypes: BM– image!, K sheet 000410761–image!, PRE!, Z –image!) [Note: As Hooker’ s Icones Plantarum was based on collections from Kew herbarium, sheet K000410760 from that collection is designated here as it also contains the original collection labels (giving both the month and date of collection) and is clearly the material upon which the illustration was based.]

Multistemmed, densely leafy shrub, 0.25–0.5 m high. Stems unbranched; branches erect, glabrous or with few silver-villous hairs, sometimes wooly or matted; fascicles present in leaf axils. Leaves alternate, erect to spreading, 5.0–32.0 × 0.2–1.0 mm, linear, deeply pinnatifid, narrowed into petiole-like base, sometimes with secondary basal lobes, silvery-pubescent villous hairs on both surface, leathery; basal swelling present, continuous with stem ribs; lobes 7–9, 4.0– 25.0 mm, filiform to linear, attenuating. Capitula discoid, homogamous, terminal, few- to many-headed (5–30), simple to compound corymbs, pedunculate; peduncles 4.0–35.0 mm long, glabrous to matted. Involucre 6–7 × 4–5 mm, funnel-shaped to cyathiform, rarely tapering at the base; involucral bracts 3- or 4-seriate, loosely arranged, margins and apices scarious (curved shape due to thin rigid centres with resin canals), membranous apices of all bracts 0.2–2.5 mm long, glabrous to villous especially on edges, brown margins absent, median resin canals present; outer bracts triangular to lanceolate or oblong, 2.3–3.0 mm long, attenuating to rounded; middle bracts lanceolate to oblong, 2.7–3.8 mm long, attenuating to rounded; inner bracts linear to oblong, 4.3–5.0 mm long, acute rounded; inner most bracts oblong, 5.2 mm long, rounded. Receptacle convex; paleae in marginal series, linear to oblong, 3.3–5.1 mm long, rounded, rigid with scarious margins and apices, scarious apices 0.7–1.0 mm long. Disc florets 38–44, without resin canals; corolla 2.3–2.5 mm long, with only glandular trichomes, yellow; tube 1.2–1.5 mm long; limb campanulate, 1.0 mm long (excluding lobes); lobes spreading, 0.6–1.0 mm long, triangular to triangular-ovate. Anthers 2.8–3.2 mm long (including apical appendage); apical appendage lanceolate. Style 2.1–2.6 mm long (excluding branches); branches 0.5–0.7 mm long. Cypselas 3.5 × 0.7 mm, oblong to obovate, 12-ribbed, apical rim membranous, dentate, glandular trichomes absent, discontinuous resin canals in ribs present. Figure 19 View FIG .

Diagnostic Characters — Phymaspermum pinnatifidum is a small, spring flowering multistemmed shrublet with discoid corymbosely arranged capitula and cypselas with a prominent membranous apical crown. Together with P. acerosum it does not have myxogenic trichomes on the cypselas (the generic synapomorphy) but rather prominent resin canals in the cypsela ribs. It can be readily distinguished from P. acerosum by its earlier flowering time, smaller stature (less than 0.5 m tall) with thin herbaceous stems, the broader funnel or cup-shaped involucres and the prominent membranous apical crown on the cypselas. Its small size means that it could also be confused with P. woodii but can be readily distinguished by the broader, not apically constricted involucres with loosely appressed involucral bracts, the prominent membranous apical crown on the cyselas and the absence of myxogenic trichomes.

Distribution and Ecology — Phymaspermum pinnatifidum is restricted to the Pietermaritzberg district of the KwaZulu