Abstract
Commiphora buruxa Swanepoel, described here as a new species, is known only from the Gariep Centre of Endemism, southwestern Namibia. It appears to be most closely related to C. cervifolia Van der Walt. Diagnostic morphological characters of C. buruxa include a viscous, cream-coloured exudate, variably simple to trifoliolate leaves, and a putamen covered by a small cupular pseudo-aril. Illustrations of the plant and a distribution map are provided. The species is known from less than 20 plants.
Highlights
At present thirty-eight described species of Commiphora Jacq. are known from the Flora of southern Africa region, no less than thirty of which occur in Namibia (Craven, 1999; Germishuizen and Meyer, 2003; Swanepoel, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
During a botanical expedition to the remote Haib River Gorge in southwestern Namibia in March 2004, the author encountered an unfamiliar Commiphora with smooth bark, resembling C. cervifolia Van der Walt (Van der Walt, 1971) but with exudate that does not squirt if a twig is damaged
In November 2006, during a botanical expedition to the Huns Mountains about 100 km further to the north–northwest, another population of the same species was found on the lower slopes of these mountains, growing in a valley leading to the Konkiep River
Summary
At present thirty-eight described species of Commiphora Jacq. are known from the Flora of southern Africa region, no less than thirty of which occur in Namibia (Craven, 1999; Germishuizen and Meyer, 2003; Swanepoel, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008). Are known from the Flora of southern Africa region, no less than thirty of which occur in Namibia (Craven, 1999; Germishuizen and Meyer, 2003; Swanepoel, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) Five of these species are endemic or near-endemic to the Gariep Centre of Endemism, a biogeographical region along the lower Orange River Valley in southern Namibia and adjacent Northern Cape, South Africa (Curtis and Mannheimer, 2005; Van Wyk and Smith, 2001). In this contribution, a rare, new species of Commiphora from the Gariep Centre is described. Additional information for C. cervifolia was sourced from the literature (Steyn, 2003; Van der Walt, 1971, 1973, 1986; Van der Walt and Van der Schijff, 1973)
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