Abstract:
Oberholzeria etendekaensis, a succulent biennial or short-lived perennial shrublet is described
as a new species, and a new monotypic genus. Discovered in 2012, it is a rare species
known only from a single locality in the Kaokoveld Centre of Plant Endemism, northwestern
Namibia. Phylogenetic analyses of molecular sequence data from the plastid matK
gene resolves Oberholzeria as the sister group to the Genisteae clade while data from the
nuclear rDNA ITS region showed that it is sister to a clade comprising both the Crotalarieae
and Genisteae clades. Morphological characters diagnostic of the new genus include: 1)
succulent stems with woody remains; 2) pinnately trifoliolate, fleshy leaves; 3) monadelphous
stamens in a sheath that is fused above; 4) dimorphic anthers with five long, basifixed
anthers alternating with five short, dorsifixed anthers, and 5) pendent, membranous, oneseeded,
laterally flattened, slightly inflated but indehiscent fruits.
