The reinstatement of Polygala affinis and the identity of Polygala scabra

Abstract

Polygala affinis DC. was generally accepted as a species endemic to South Africa and Namibia, occurring from the Western Cape in the south and extending northwards to Namibia and eastwards to the Eastern Cape (see e.g. Harvey 1860 and Levyns 1955) until Paiva (1998), in his treatment of the genus Polygala L. in Africa, considered it to be a synonym of Polygala scabra L., a name that was not listed in the main regional revisions of the genus (Harvey 1860; Levyns 1955).