Moraea intermedia and M. vuvuzela (Iridaceae-Iridoideae), two new species from western South Africa, and some nomenclatural changes and range extensions in the genus

Abstract

We describe two new species in the largely sub-Saharan genus Moraea Mill. (± 205 spp.) from its centre of diversity in the winter rainfall region of southern Africa. Moraea intermedia, from north-central Namaqualand near Springbok, is a member of the small section Tubiflorae (now eight species), remarkable in its growth habit with a long basal intemode. leaves clustered at the first aerial node, and Moraea-type stamens and style branches but subequal tepals with very short claws that clasp only the base of the filament column. Moraea vuvuzela. a member of series Galaxia of the Galaxia group of the genus (now 17 species), has deeply fringed stigma lobes, filaments free in the upper 1 mm, ± prostrate, lanceolate leaves and. remarkable for the series, dark brown to purple markings near the base of the tepal limbs. In the unusually variable M.fugax, currently with two subspecies, new collections of subsp. fugax co-occurring but on different soils with subsp. filicaulis, cast doubt on their current treatment as members of the same species. We now favour recognition of the diminutive subsp.filicaulis as a separate species, M. filicaulis. In the M iripetala group we recommend recognition of the early blooming M. punctata, described in 1892 and later subsumed in M. iripetala but readily distinguished by the long inner tepals broader in the midline and short, relatively broad, plane rather than channelled leaves. We also report small but significant range extensions for M. barkerae, M. macrocarpa and M. tricolor.