Cliffortia purpurea

PLANTAE / PHANEROGAMAE / ANTHOPHYTA / ROSALES / ROSACEAE / ROSOIDEAE / SANGUISORBEAE / CLIFFORTIA / PURPUREA

Cliffortia purpurea (Weim.) C.Whitehouse

Indigenous Endemic

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Morphological description

Medium erect shrub, up to 1.5 m high; densely divaricately branched, forming brachyblasts. Young stems 1.3-1.5 mm wide, tinged reddish, hairy; stem hairs adpressed upwards, 0.2-0.6 mm long. Leaves unifoliolate; narrowly triangular to lanceolate, 7.5-9.7 x 2.3-4.7 mm; apex sharply acuminate to pungent, 0.6-1.4 mm long; margins markedly turned upwards to rounded, smooth and entire or with up to 2 straight teeth, 1.0-2.2 mm long; lamina 5-9-veined from base, cartilaginous, 0.2-0.5 mm thick, midrib slightly prominent beneath, curved downwards and away from the stem, glabrous above, hairy all over beneath, 0.2-0.7 mm long; sheath 1.2-1.3 mm long, abaxially hairy, adaxially markedly hairy; stipules 1.0-1.7 mm long, free, margins ciliate; petiole absent. Flowers solitary in axils of undifferentiated leaves; bracteoles hairy; sepals 3, hairy on outside. Male flowers with bracteoles ±4 mm long; sepals broadly ovate, 4.0-4.5 mm long; stamens 9. Female flowers with bracteoles 3.6-4.0 mm long, longer than immature receptacle; sepals broadly ovate, 2.1-2.9 x 0.6-1.4 mm, recurved; carpel 1; stigma 3.4-6.1 mm long, red, feathery, prominent above leaves; immature receptacle 1.4-3.1 x 0.6-1.3 mm, glabrous, clearly ribbed. Achene ellipsoid, ±5 x ±1.3 mm, medium to dark brown, glabrous; 12-ribbed, rounded to acute, 0.1-0.2 mm wide. Teeth, 1.0-2.2 mm long; lamina 5-9-veined from base, cartilaginous, 0.2-0.5 mm thick, midrib slightly prominent beneath, curved downwards and away from the stem, glabrous above, hairy all over beneath, 0.2-0.7 mm long; sheath 1.2-1.3 mm long, abaxially hairy, adaxially markedly hairy; stipules 1.0-1.7 mm long, free, margins ciliate; petiole absent. Flowers solitary in axils of undifferentiated leaves; bracteoles hairy; sepals 3, hairy on outside. Male flowers with bracteoles ±4 mm long; sepals broadly ovate, 4.0-4.5 mm long; stamens 9. Female flowers with bracteoles 3.6-4.0 mm long, longer than immature receptacle; sepals broadly ovate, 2.1-2.9 x 0.6-1.4 mm, recurved; carpel 1; stigma 3.4-6.1 mm long, red, feathery, prominent above leaves; immature receptacle 1.4-3.1 x 0.6-1.3 mm, glabrous, clearly ribbed. Achene ellipsoid, ±5 x ±1.3 mm, medium to dark brown, glabrous; 12-ribbed, rounded to acute, 0.1-0.2 mm wide. From: Whitehouse, CM. 2021. A monograph on the genus Cliffortia. Strelitzia 43: 1-477. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. [CC BY]

Differt a typo: laminis hrevioribus 6-8 mm longis, subtus adpresse pilosis, bracteolis floris cf minoribus ca. 4 mm longis, sepalis brevioribus 4-4.5 mm longis purpureis, staminibus (9) paucioribus. From: Weimarck, AH. 1948. The genus Cliffortia, a taxonomical survey. Bot. Not. 90(2): 167-203. [All rights reserved] As: Cliffortia ruscifolia L. var. purpurea Weim.

Diagnostic description

A short-leaved species allied to Cliffortia ruscifolia, it also lacks the distinctive flowerheads of that species. In habit C. purpurea also forms a more narrowly columnar shrub than C. ruscifolia. This variety was originally described as a variety of C. ruscifolia, but suggested that it might constitute a separate species. Having seen both growing in the same area, the are readily distinguishable, although there may be some introgression between the two. Collections from the west end of the Baviaanskloof (Levyns 9141, Whitehouse 89) are very similar to this species, especially in the tall columnar habit and small leaves. These populations represent one of the most easterly populations of the Cliffortia ruscifolia series, and one of the most distant from Nieuwoudtville, yet tentative molecular evidence from the nuclear genome suggests that they may share a common history within the complex. From: Whitehouse, CM. 2021. A monograph on the genus Cliffortia. Strelitzia 43: 1-477. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. [CC BY]

C. ruscifolia var. purpurea possibly constitutes a species different from C. ruscifolia L. but the material at present known is too insignificant to allow a positive opinion. From: Weimarck, AH. 1948. The genus Cliffortia, a taxonomical survey. Bot. Not. 90(2): 167-203. [All rights reserved] As: Cliffortia ruscifolia L. var. purpurea Weim.

Habitat

Well-drained sands from Table Mountain Series in full sun. From: Whitehouse, CM. 2021. A monograph on the genus Cliffortia. Strelitzia 43: 1-477. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. [CC BY]

Distribution

Endemic to the Bokkeveld Escarpment near Nieuwoudtville. From: Whitehouse, CM. 2021. A monograph on the genus Cliffortia. Strelitzia 43: 1-477. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. [CC BY]

Flowering time

August to November

Altitude

550 to 700 m

Occurrence records map

This map contains point-based occurrences at different locations

iNaturalist: BODATSA: Data partners records:

Residence status

Occurrence in the Flora of Southern Africa (FSA) countries and South African provinces. Residence status indicates if a taxon is indigenous, endemic, naturalised or invasive in a specific region. This data is based on specimen records and literature

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