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Issue: Vol. 781 No. 3: 22 Oct. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-10-22
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.781.3.4
Page range: 251-261
Abstract views: 14
PDF downloaded: 0

A new taxonomic status for, and expansion of, Kalanchoe sect. Rhombopilosae, as K. ser. Rhombopilosae, in K. sect. Stellatopilosae, included in K. subg. Calophygia (Crassulaceae [subfam. Cotyledonoideae] tr. Kalanchoeae)

Ria Olivier Herbarium; Department of Botany; Nelson Mandela University; P.O. Box 77000; Gqeberha; 6031 South Africa
frutescent Kalanchoe sect. Stellatopilosae Madagascar nomenclature taxonomy woody clade Eudicots

Abstract

The taxonomic status of Kalanchoe sect. Rhombopilosae is changed to that of series, as K. ser. Rhombopilosae, and included in K. sect. Stellatopilosae. Two species are here included in K. ser. Rhombopilosae; a single species was previously included in K. sect. Rhombopilosae. Apart from K. rhombopilosa, K. millotii is additionally placed in the series. Kalanchoe sect. Stellatopilosae is a constituent of K. subg. Calophygia (Crassulaceae [subfam. Cotyledonoideae] tr. Kalanchoeae), the ‘woody clade’ of the genus. Plants are miniature to small to medium-sized shrubs with somewhat woody to woody stems at vegetative and reproductive maturity; leaf colour varies from silvery white, often with reddish brown maculation, to dull greyish green; leaf shape varies from triangular to obovate to ovate to somewhat spathulate to nearly orbicular; and corolla tubes are short-urceolate to quadrangular-urceolate to slightly campanulate. Corolla lobes are non-chromatic, varying from virtually uniformly light green to strongly purple-infused to white to yellowish green- to yellowish orange- to pinkish-infused. Kalanchoe ser. Rhombopilosae is naturally restricted to Madagascar. Both species included in the series are popular in horticulture.

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How to Cite

Smith, G.F. (2026) A new taxonomic status for, and expansion of, Kalanchoe sect. Rhombopilosae, as K. ser. Rhombopilosae, in K. sect. Stellatopilosae, included in K. subg. Calophygia (Crassulaceae [subfam. Cotyledonoideae] tr. Kalanchoeae). Phytotaxa 781 (3): 251–261. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.781.3.4