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Issue: Vol. 714 No. 1: 6 Aug. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-08-06
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.714.1.4
Page range: 69-78
Abstract views: 500
PDF downloaded: 8

A new cliff-dwelling species of Crassula (Crassulaceae: Crassuloideae) from the Mpumalanga Escarpment, Northern Drakensberg, South Africa

Biodiversity Research, Assessment and Monitoring, South African National Biodiversity Institute, P.O. Box 52099, Berea Road, 4007 South Africa
Department of Nature Conservation, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001 South Africa
Mpumalanga Tourism & Parks Agency, P. Bag X1088, Lydenburg, 1120 South Africa; School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Ria Olivier Herbarium, Department of Botany, Nelson Mandela University, P.O. Box 77000, Gqeberha, 6031 South Africa
classification Crassula turpiniae Crassula sect. Anacampseroideae southern Africa taxonomy Eudicots

Abstract

A new species of Crassula, C. turpiniae (Crassulaceae subfam. Crassuloideae), is described from high altitude rock faces (1640–2200 m) along a restricted stretch of the Mpumalanga Escarpment in eastern South Africa. The new species shows affinities with both C. multicava and C. ovata and, along with these two species, fits in C. sect. Anacampseroideae. The new species can be easily separated from the other two based on the expression of several diagnostic vegetative and reproductive characters. The placement of C. turpiniae within the most recently proposed sectional classification for the Crassula taxa of southern Africa is discussed.

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How to Cite

Crouch, N.R., Walters, M., Lötter, M. & Smith, G.F. (2025) A new cliff-dwelling species of Crassula (Crassulaceae: Crassuloideae) from the Mpumalanga Escarpment, Northern Drakensberg, South Africa. Phytotaxa 714 (1): 69–78. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.714.1.4