Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 760 No. 2: 4 Jun. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-06-04
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.760.2.4
Page range: 149-162
Abstract views: 0
PDF downloaded: 0

Cotyledon turlandii (Crassulaceae [subfam. Cotyledonoideae] tr. Cotyledoneae), a new cliff-dwelling species from the Maputaland-Pondoland Region of Endemism in eastern South Africa, with nomenclatural notes on the name Cotyledon zuluensis

Ria Olivier Herbarium; Department of Botany; Nelson Mandela University; P.O. Box 77000; Gqeberha; 6031 South Africa
Biodiversity Research and Monitoring Directorate; South African National Biodiversity Institute; P.O. Box 52099; Berea Road; Durban; 4007 South Africa
##plugins.generic.jatsParser.article.authorBio##
×

NEIL R. CROUCH

Biodiversity Research and Monitoring Directorate; senior scientist

PostNet Suite 75; Private Bag X19041; Linton Grange; 6015 South Africa
##plugins.generic.jatsParser.article.authorBio##
×

ANDREW MCKAY

Private

Cotyledon orbiculata var. oblonga cremnophyte KwaZulu-Natal province Eudicots

Abstract

Only for the past ca. 50 years has the genus-rank circumscription of Cotyledon (Crassulaceae [subfam. Cotyledonoideae] tr. Cotyledoneae), one of the first crassuloid genera recognised by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, reached reasonable stability. The genus, as circumscribed by Hellmut R. Tölken in 1978 and as such still widely accepted, includes fewer than 30 species, most of which are naturally restricted to South Africa. Cotyledon is present in the winter-rainfall, western parts of the country with a Mediterranean-type climate; in the climatically severe interior above the near-coastal escarpment; and in the mild-climate, subtropical eastern and northeastern parts. In the latter two instances, rainfall is recorded all-year round or predominantly in summer. A number of new cotyledons, such as C. nielsii and C. mckayi, were recently described from the third area, i.e. the eastern subtropics of South Africa. A further new species of Cotyledon from eastern South Africa is here described, as Cotyledon turlandii. With thin, weak, pendent stems; very narrow, apically recurved leaves that are longitudinally upwards-folded along the margin; and large, near-evenly cylindrical corolla tubes, the species can be easily separated from congeners such as C. orbiculata var. oblonga, which has a very broad current circumscription and natural geographical distribution range. The new species is illustrated, along with other cotyledons that grow in its proximity. Nomenclatural notes are provided on the name C. zuluensis, and a correction to its typification is published here.

References

  1. Baker, J.G. (1893 [27 May]) New or noteworthy plants. Cotyledon barbeyi, Schweinf. ined.* The Gardeners’ Chronicle. [A weekly illustrated journal of Horticulture and Allied Subjects], 3rd ser., XIIII (No. 335): 624–625. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/83804#page/646/mode/1up]
  2. Berger, A. (1930 [Mai]) Crassulaceae. Unterfam. II. Kalanchoideae [sic, Kalanchooideae]. 6. Kalanchoe Adanson. 7. Kitchingia Baker. 8. Bryophyllum Salisb. Unterfam. III. Cotyledonoideae. In: Engler, A. & Prantl, K. (Eds.) Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien, edn 2, 18a. Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig, pp. 378–386, 402–412.
  3. Bews, J.W. (1921) An introduction to the flora of Natal and Zululand. City Printing Works, Pietermaritzburg, 248 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.11017
  4. Brummitt, R.K. & Powell, C.E. (1992) Authors of plant names. A list of authors of scientific names of plants, with recommended standard forms of their names, including abbreviations. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 732 pp.
  5. Candolle, A.P. de. (1828 [mid-March]) Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis, sive enumeratio contracta ordinum, generum, specierumque plantarum huc usque cognitarum, juxta methodi naturalis normas digesta. Pars Tertia. [Umbilicus DC. treated on p. 399]. Sistens Calyciflorarum Ordines XXVI. Sumptibus Sociorum Treuttel et Wurtz, rue de Bourbon, no 17, Paris, & Strasbourg & London, 494 pp. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/152793#page/410/mode/1up]
  6. Carbutt, C. (2023 [9 November]) The Greater Midlands—a mid-elevation Centre of Floristic Endemism in summer-rainfall eastern South Africa. Diversity 15 (11): a1137, 24 pp. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15111137
  7. Compton, R.H. (1976 [6 August]) The Flora of Swaziland. Journal of South African Botany Supplementary Volume No. 11: 1–684.
  8. Crouch, N.R. & Smith, G.F. (2023) Cotyledon mckayi (Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae), a new cremnophytic species from the central Tugela River Basin of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Phytotaxa 632 (2): 184–192. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.632.2.8
  9. Crouch, N.R., Styles, D.G.A. & Walters, M. (2021) Cotyledon nielsii (Crassulaceae), a new cremnophyte from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Bradleya 39: 131–137. https://doi.org/10.25223/brad.n39.2021.a12
  10. Dumortier, B.C.J. (1829) Analyse des familles de plantes: avec l’indication des principaux genres qui s’y rattachent. [Fam. 133. Crassulaceae Juss. treated on p. 38]. Imprimerie de J. Casterman, Ainé, Tournay, 104 pp. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33110236#page/42/mode/1up]
  11. Fielding, J. & Turland, N.[J.] (2005) Flowers of Crete. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, 650 pp.
  12. Gunn, M.[D.] & Codd, L.E.[W.] (1981) Botanical exploration of southern Africa. An illustrated history of early botanical literature on the Cape flora. Biographical accounts of the leading plant collectors and their activities in southern Africa from the days of the East India Company until modern times. A.A. Balkema, Cape Town, 400 pp.
  13. Harvey, W.H. (1862) Order LIII. Crassulaceae, D.C. VII. Cotyledon, L. In: Harvey, W.H. & Sonder, O.W. (Eds.) Flora capensis [being a systematic description of the plants of the Cape Colony, Caffraria, & Port Natal]. Vol. 2. L. Reeve & Co., Ltd, Kent, pp. 370–378. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/15233#page/378/mode/1up]
  14. Haworth, A.H. (1812) Synopsis plantarum succulentarum, cum descriptionibus, synonymis, locis; observationibus anglicanis, culturaque. Typis Richardi Taylor et Socii, Shoe-Lane, Londoni, 334 pp.; including 14 numbered “APPENDIX” pages. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.9462
  15. Hooker, J.D. (1868) Cotyledon velutina. Velvety-leaved Cotyledon. Nat. Ord. Crassulaceæ.—Decandria Pentagynia. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine 94 [of the whole work, volume XXV of the 3rd series]: Tab. 5684. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/14370#page/8/mode/1up]
  16. IPNI. (2025+) The International Plant Names Index. Available from: https://www.ipni.org/ (accessed August 2025)
  17. Jacobsen, H. (1954) Handbuch der sukkulenten Pflanzen. Beschreibung und Kultur der Sukkulenten mit Ausnahme der Cactaceae. Band I. Abromeitiella bis Euphorbia. [Cotyledon on pp. 355–374.] VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena, pp. I–XI; 1–614.
  18. Lamarck, J-B.P.A. de M. de. (1786 [16 October]) Encyclopédie méthodique. Botanique. Tome second, 1. [Cotyledon L. sensu lato, i.e., including Kalanchoe, treated on pp. 139–142.] Chez Panckoucke, Libraire, Hôtel de Thou, rue des Poitevins, Paris, and Chez Plomteux, Imprimeur des Etats, Liège, 774 pp. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/15260#page/141/mode/1up]
  19. Lemaire, [A.]C. (1852) Genre nouveau de la familie des Crassulacées. Adromischus. Jardin Fleuriste; Journal Général des Progrès et des Intérêts Horticoles et Botaniques. Ghent [Miscellanées] 2: 58–61. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/274797#page/292/mode/1up]
  20. Linnaeus, C. (1753) Species plantarum, exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas. Volumes 1 and 2. Salvius, Stockholm, 560 pp. [volume 1] and 1200 pp. [total]; indices not paginated. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.669
  21. McCracken, D.P. (2008) Saving the Zululand wilderness. An early struggle for nature conservation. Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd, Sunnyside, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, 176 pp.
  22. McCracken, D.P. & McCracken, P.A. (1990) Natal. The Garden Colony. Victorian Natal and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Frandsen Publishers (Pty) Ltd, Sandton, Johannesburg, 99 pp.
  23. Mucina, L. & Geldenhuys, C.J. (2006) Afrotemperate, Subtropical and Azonal Forests. In: Mucina, L. & Rutherford, M.C. (Eds.) The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, pp. 584–615.
  24. Ohba, H., Bartholomew, B.M., Turland, N.J. & Fu Kunjun (Fu Kun-Tsun) (2000) New combinations in Phedimus (Crassulaceae). Novon 10 (4): 400–402. https://doi.org/10.2307/3392995
  25. Ross, J.H. (1972) The flora of Natal. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa 39. Department of Agricultural Technical Services, Botanical Research Institute, Pretoria, 418 pp.
  26. Rutherford, M.C., Mucina, L., Lötter, M.C., Bredenkamp, G.J., Smit, J.H.L., Scott-Shaw, C.R., Hoare, D.B., Goodman, P.S., Bezuidenhout, H., Scott, L., Ellis, F., Powrie, L.W., Siebert, F., Mostert, T.H., Henning, B.J., Venter, C.E., Camp, K.G.T., Siebert, S.J., Matthews, W.S., Burrows, J.E., Dobson, L., Van Rooyen, N., Schmidt, E., Winter, P.J.D., Du Preez, P.J., Ward, R.A., Williamson, S. & Hurter, P.J.H. (2006) Savanna Biome. In: Mucina, L. & Rutherford, M.C. (Eds.) The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, pp. 438–539.
  27. Schönland, S. (1891) Crassulaceae. In: Engler, A. & Prantl, K. (Eds.) Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien nebst ihren Gattungen und wichtigeren Arten insbesondere den Nutzpflanzen bearbeitet unter Mitwirkung zahlreicher hervorragender Fachgelehrten von A. Engler und K. Prantl. III. Teil. 2. Abteilung a. [Crassulaceae von S. Schönland treated on pp. 23–38]. Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig, 142 pp. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/100217#page/31/mode/1up]
  28. Schönland, S. (1915 [1 May]) The South African species of the genus Cotyledon. Records of the Albany Museum 3 (Part II): 130–156. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/339137#page/156/mode/1up]
  29. Schönland, S. & Baker, E.G. (1902a [January]) Some South African species of Cotyledon. The Journal of Botany. British and Foreign XL (No. 469): 9–23. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/109460#page/16/mode/1up]
  30. Schönland, S. & Baker, E.G. (1902b [March]) Some South African species of Cotyledon. (Plates 431–435) (Concluded from p. 23). The Journal of Botany. British and Foreign XL (No. 471): 89–94, with Plates 431–435 preceding the text. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/109460#page/110/mode/1up]
  31. Small, J.K. (1933) Manual of the southeastern flora, being descriptions of the seed plants growing naturally in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Eastern Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. [Illustrated.] The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1554 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.696
  32. Smith, G.F. (2023) Who published the name Kalanchoe longiflora (Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae)? The correct author attribution and typification of this species name. Phytotaxa 618 (3): 254–264. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.618.3.3
  33. Smith, G.F. & Crouch, N.R. (2025) A review of the nomenclature and identity of Cotyledon mucronata and C. undulata (Crassulaceae subfam. Cotyledonoideae), two names variously applied to undulate leaf-margined material generally included in the synonymy of different varieties of C. orbiculata, with C. mucronata reinstated at the rank of species. Phytotaxa 714 (1): 40–56. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.714.1.2
  34. Smith, G.F., Figueiredo, E., Victor, J. & Klopper, R.R. (2023) Plant poaching in southern Africa is aided by taxonomy. Is a return to Caput bonae spei inevitable? Taxon 72 (4): 717–723. https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.12882
  35. Smith, G.F. & Monro, A.M. (2024) The correct name for the subfamily containing Kalanchoe is Crassulaceae subfam. Cotyledonoideae, and not Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae, with amendment of the circumscription of Crassulaceae subfam. Cotyledonoideae. Phytotaxa 672 (3): 293–298. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.672.3.7
  36. Smith, G.F. & Monro, A.M. (2025) A new tribal classification of Crassulaceae subfam. Cotyledonoideae: separating Kalanchoe from Adromischus, Cotyledon, and Tylecodon. Phytotaxa 716 (1): 55–64. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.716.1.6
  37. Thiers, B. (2025+) Index herbariorum: a global directory of public herbaria and associated staff. New York Botanical Garden’s Virtual Herbarium. Available from: http://sweetgum.nybg.org/ih/ (accessed August 2025)
  38. Tölken, H.R. (1978) New taxa and new combinations in Cotyledon and allied genera. Bothalia 12 (3): 377–393. https://doi.org/10.4102/abc.v12i3.1794
  39. Tölken, H.R. (1979) A re-evaluation of the Cotyledon orbiculata complex. Bothalia 12 (4): 615–620. https://doi.org/10.4102/abc.v12i4.1425
  40. Tölken, H.R. (1985) Crassulaceae. 3164, Cotyledon. In: Leistner, O.A. (Ed.) Flora of Southern Africa 14. Botanical Research Institute, Department of Agriculture and Water Supply, place of publication not stated, likely Pretoria, pp. 3–18.
  41. Turland, N.J. & Bienvenu, J. (2021) Crassulaceae. Sedum dasyphyllum L. subsp. dasyphyllum. [Greece: Crete (Kriti)]. In: Raab-Straube, E. von & Raus, Th. (Eds.) Euro+Med-Checklist Notulae, 14. Willdenowia 51: 358–359, whole paper pp. 355–369. https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.51.51304
  42. Turland, N.J., Wiersema, J.H., Barrie, F.R., Gandhi, K.N., Gravendyck, J., Greuter, W., Hawksworth, D.L., Herendeen, P.S., Klopper, R.R., Knapp, S., Kusber, W.-H., Li, D.-Z., May, T.W., Monro, A.M., Prado, J., Price, M.J., Smith, G.F. & Zamora Señoret, J.C. (2025) International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Madrid Code). Regnum Vegetabile 162. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 303 pp. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226839479.001.0001
  43. Van Jaarsveld, E. (2003) Cotyledon. In: Eggli, U. (Ed.) Illustrated handbook of succulent plants: Crassulaceae. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg and New York, pp. 27–32.
  44. Van Jaarsveld, E. & Koutnik, D. (2004) Cotyledon and Tylecodon. Umdaus Press, Hatfield [Pretoria], 156 pp.
  45. Van Wyk, A.E. & Smith, G.F. (2001) Regions of floristic endemism in southern Africa. A review with emphasis on succulents. Umdaus Press, Hatfield, Pretoria, 199 pp.
  46. Victor, J., Smith, G.F., Turland, N.J., Le Roux, M., Paton, A., Figueiredo, E., Crouch, N.R., Van Wyk, A.E., Filer, D. & Van Wyk, E. (2013) Creating an online world Flora by 2020: a perspective from South Africa. Biodiversity & Conservation 23 (1): 251–263. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-013-0595-0
  47. Von Poellnitz, [J.]K.[L.A.]. (1937) Beitrӓge zur Kenntnis der Gattung Cotyledon L. Repertorium specierum novarum regni vegetabilis. [Centralblatt (Zentralblatt) für Sammlung und Veröffentlichung von Einzeldiagnosen neuer Pflanzen. Leipzig, Berlin] 42: 15–42. [https://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/viewer/14784/?offset=#page=23&viewer=picture&o=bookmark&n=0&q=] https://doi.org/10.1002/fedr.19370420107
  48. Wood, J.M. (1903) Kalanchoe longiflora, Schlechter, MSS. Natural Order, Crassulaceae. Natal Plants 4 (I): t. 320 [lacking page numbers]. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38467745#page/70/mode/1up]
  49. Wood, J.M. (1907) Handbook to the flora of Natal. Bennett & Davis, Durban, 202 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.10992

How to Cite

Smith, G.F., Crouch, N.R. & Mckay, A. (2026) Cotyledon turlandii (Crassulaceae [subfam. Cotyledonoideae] tr. Cotyledoneae), a new cliff-dwelling species from the Maputaland-Pondoland Region of Endemism in eastern South Africa, with nomenclatural notes on the name Cotyledon zuluensis. Phytotaxa 760 (2): 149–162. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.760.2.4