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Issue: Vol. 781 No. 2: 21 Oct. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-10-21
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.781.2.8
Page range: 189-200
Abstract views: 21
PDF downloaded: 1

Kalanchoe ser. Rauhia (Crassulaceae [subfam. Cotyledonoideae] tr. Kalanchoeae) described: further resolving the classification of K. sect. Stellatopilosae in K. subg. Calophygia

Ria Olivier Herbarium; Department of Botany; Nelson Mandela University; P.O. Box 77000; Gqeberha; 6031 South Africa
Eudicots Kalanchoe beharensis Kalanchoe subg. Calophygia Kalanchoe viguieri Madagascar nomenclature taxonomy woody clade

Abstract

To further elucidate the series-rank classification of K. sect. Stellatopilosae in K. subg. Calophygia (Crassulaceae [subfam. Cotyledonoideae] tr. Kalanchoeae), K. ser. Rauhia is described to accommodate two shrubby to arborescent species, K. viguieri and K. beharensis. Morphologically, these two species differ from other taxa included in the subgenus by inter alia consistently being perennial trees or shrub-like trees; by their somewhat elongated-triangular, deltoid to peltate to ovate to orbicular, petiolate leaves; by most above-ground plant parts most often being covered in fine, silvery white to golden-brown, minute, stellate hairs that give the plant surfaces a felt-like appearance; and by the flowers generally being dull- to muted-coloured. In a phylogenetic analysis of Kalanchoe, K. beharensis and K. viguieri appeared together in a subclade in K. sect. Stellatopilosae, in K. subg. Calophygia. Kalanchoe ser. Rauhia is naturally restricted to Madagascar.

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How to Cite

Smith, G.F. (2026) Kalanchoe ser. Rauhia (Crassulaceae [subfam. Cotyledonoideae] tr. Kalanchoeae) described: further resolving the classification of K. sect. Stellatopilosae in K. subg. Calophygia. Phytotaxa 781 (2): 189–200. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.781.2.8