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Abstract
The Dioscorea buchananii complex is shown to comprise three species, one of which is divided into two subspecies, based on morphological data. Two species, Dioscorea rupicola Kunth and Dioscorea multiloba Kunth, are endemic or subendemic to South Africa and of widespread occurrence in KwaZulu Natal. They differ markedly from each other in inflorescence and floral morphology and appear to be ecologically differentiated. The third species, Dioscorea buchananii Benth., is primarily found in southeastern tropical Africa, but a small number of specimens collected in South Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are placed in an endemic subspecies, Dioscorea buchananii subsp. undatiloba (Baker) Wilkin. The latter taxon is a high priority in terms of rediscovery and conservation. Keys, descriptions, supporting information and illustrations are provided and made available online through eMonocot biodiversity informatics tools. Three nomenclatural acts are undertaken: two names are placed in synonymy and a new combination made.
Highlights
The Dioscorea buchananii Benth. group of species first came to the attention of science through the publication of three species with palmately lobed leaves from South Africa that had been collected by some of the early botanical explorers of the Cape: D. diversifolia Kunth, D. multiloba Kunth and D. rupicola Kunth (Kunth 1850)
The first of those names was a homonym of D. diversifolia Griseb., a Brazilian species for which a Sellow collection was cited (Grisebach 1842), Kunth linked his name to Drège 4497 from the Cape
Two specimens of D. multiloba were cited by Kunth, Drège 4495 and 4496; both it and D. diversifolia were grouped as Cape taxa within one of Kunth’s species groups based on floral morphological characters
Summary
The Dioscorea buchananii Benth. group of species first came to the attention of science through the publication of three species with palmately lobed leaves from South Africa that had been collected by some of the early botanical explorers of the Cape: D. diversifolia Kunth, D. multiloba Kunth and D. rupicola Kunth (Kunth 1850).
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