New species of Hessea and Strumaria (Amaryllidaceae: Amaryllideae) from Namaqualand in Northern Cape and Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

Described are two new species in the southern African subtribe Strumariinae (Amaryllidaceae: Amaryllideae). In Hessea the new species H. pallida (subg. Hessea) from Toringberg, Western Cape, on the westernmost edge of the southern Namaqualand Hardeveld, is known on the edges of a seasonal pan within Namaqualand Granite Renosterveld. The whitish to pale pink flowers have crisped tepal edges in common with three species known exclusively from fire-prone fynbos in the Core Cape Floristic Region. Hessea pallida is inferred to be most closely related to H. monticola. The two species differ in the size, colouring and markings of the flowers, shape of the tepals and flowering habit. Hessea monticola is a fire obligate whereas H. pallida flowers regularly in a habitat free of fire. The recognition of Toringberg as a minor refugium for core Cape plants is briefly discussed. In Strumaria the new species S. crystallina (subg. Strumaria) is described from the Nama shales of the Skaaprivier gorge on the northern Namaqualand Escarpment. The widely campanulate flowers have sculptured stamens and style like those of S. bidentata, but S. crystallina stands out in having soft, narrow leaves unlike the firm, upright leaves spread into a flattened fan as in most other species in the subgenus, apart from S. prolifera in northern Namaqualand. Both new species are known only from the type locality.