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Issue: Vol. 731 No. 2: 27 Nov. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-11-27
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.731.2.2
Page range: 115-127
Abstract views: 84
PDF downloaded: 9

Eucomis nubigena (Hyacinthaceae, Hyacinthoideae), a diminutive new cleistogamous species from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre

Biodiversity Research, Assessment & Monitoring, South African National Biodiversity Institute, P.O. Box 52099, Berea Road 4007, South Africa
Depto. de Ciencias Ambientales y Recursos Naturales (dCARN), Universidad de Alicante, P. O. Box 99, E-03080 Alicante, Spain, Department of Botany, Rhodes University, Makhanda, 6140, South Africa
School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
89 Uplands Road, Blackridge, Pietermaritzburg 3201, South Africa
autogamy Eucomis Hyacinthaceae Hyacinthoideae Lesotho South Africa taxonomy Monocots

Abstract

Based on morphological and ecological grounds, and its reproductive strategy, Eucomis nubigena is here described. This is a diminutive new dwarf species found at high elevations in both South Africa and Lesotho, limited in distribution to the Maloti Alpine Sub-centre of the Drakensberg Mountain Centre. This cryptic geophyte is restricted to basaltic substrates, growing in full sun in shallow pockets of gravel overlying basalt pavements. It is easily differentiated from its closest relatives based on its overall diminutive size, the production of flowers that are exclusively cleistogamous and autogamous rather than chasmogamous and entomophilous, and its prominently succulent coma bracts. Eucomis nubigena is the first species in a widely distributed family of ca. 1000 species to be documented as cleistogamous, and the first genus member to exhibit basal placentation. A complete illustration and morphological description of the new species are provided, including data regarding its biology, ecology, and distribution. The relationship of E. nubigena to other genus members is assessed.

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How to Cite

Crouch, N.R., Martínez-Azorín, M., Cron, G.V. & Beaumont, A.J. (2025) Eucomis nubigena (Hyacinthaceae, Hyacinthoideae), a diminutive new cleistogamous species from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre. Phytotaxa 731 (2): 115–127. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.731.2.2