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Issue: Vol. 762 No. 3: 17 Jun. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-06-17
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.762.3.5
Page range: 283-288
Abstract views: 0
PDF downloaded: 0

Lachenalia festiva (Hyacinthaceae subfam. Hyacinthoideae tribe Massonieae), a new species from 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
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden; South African National Biodiversity Institute; 99 Rhodes Ave; Newlands; Cape Town; 7700; South Africa
Centre of Natural History; Universalmuseum Joanneum; 8045 Graz; Austria
Depto. de Ciencias Ambientales y Recursos Naturales (dCARN); Universidad de Alicante; P. O. Box 99; E-03080 Alicante; Spain
Depto. de Ciencias Ambientales y Recursos Naturales (dCARN); Universidad de Alicante; P. O. Box 99; E-03080 Alicante; Spain
Depto. de Ciencias Ambientales y Recursos Naturales (dCARN); Universidad de Alicante; P. O. Box 99; E-03080 Alicante; Spain
Monocots Asparagaceae Lachenalia sp. nov Hyacinthaceae taxonomy Scilloideae

Abstract

Our field explorations in South Africa revealed an undescribed species of Lachenalia occurring in a quarter degree square previously unrecorded for the genus, in an arid region of northwestern South Africa between Brandvlei and Williston. The new species shares the diagnostic characters of the genus, including the zygomorphic flowers, but it is readily distinguished by its single leaf ornamented with short appressed, branched trichomes and elongated translucent hairs borne on distinct pustules, hypogeal bulb covered with leathery, blackish outer tunics and extended into a hypogeal neck of 3–4 cm long, and the magenta or purplish speckled or mottled tepals, peduncle and lower portion of the leaf, among other characters. A complete morphological description of the new species as well as data on ecology, distribution, and differences with related species, are provided.

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How to Cite

Martínez-Azorín, M., Duncan, G.D., Pinter, M., Crespo, M.B., Alonso-Vargas, M. Ángeles & Villar-García, J.L. (2026) Lachenalia festiva (Hyacinthaceae subfam. Hyacinthoideae tribe Massonieae), a new species from South Africa. Phytotaxa 762 (3): 283–288. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.762.3.5