Asphodelaceae : Alooideae. Gasteria croucheri subsp.Pondoensis, a new cremnophyte from Pondoland, South Africa

Abstract

We describe a new subspecies of Gasteria croucheri (Hook.f.) Baker from northern Pondoland, Eastern Cape, an obligate cremnophyte belonging to Gasteria Duval sect. Longifl orae Haw. ser. Longifoliae Haw. The members of this series are all characterized by narrow, elliptical, comparatively dull-coloured fl owers in which the swelling in the upper half approximates the rather unpronounced basal gasteriform portion (Van Jaarsveld et al. 1994). Mature specimens of the new taxon produce both leaves (up to 1.5 m long) and fl owers (up to 50 mm long) that are exceptionally long in the genus. To date, plants have only been found in the Msikaba and Mtentu River systems adjacent to Mkambati Game Reserve (Figure 8), the topography of which is characterized by rugged plateaux of 100–500 m, dissected deeply by narrow river gorges. This distribution falls within the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism (Van Wyk & Smith 2001). Specimens grow on cliffs both fully exposed on southern aspects, as well as within the shaded margins of riverine forest. It is a clump-forming species with long, angular and often sickle-shaped leaves, most of which are pendulous in mature specimens (Figure 9).