Home | > | List of families | > | Eriospermaceae | > | Eriospermum | > | mackenii |
Synonyms: |
Eriospermum phippsii Wild |
Common names: | |
Frequency: | Locally frequent |
Status: | Native |
Description: |
Perennial herb with a solitary inflorescence up to 40 cm high, growing from a subglobose tuber, up to 4.5 cm in diameter; old leaf sheaths forming a fibrous neck up to 6.5 cm long. Leaves 2-5, more or less erect, ovate, up to 9 cm long, covered in short to longer hairs; lamina channelled at the base. Peduncle up to 30 cm long; raceme up to 50-flowered, up to 20 cm long. Bracts ovate, 1-2 mm long. Pedicels up to 2.5 cm long. Flowers up to 1.2 cm in diameter, bell-shaped, bright yellow with a green midvein on the tepals. Capsule obovoid, up to 8 mm long. |
Notes: | |
Derivation of specific name: | mackenii: after Mark Johnston McKen (1823-1872), Scottish plant collector and herbarium curator at the Durban Botanic Gardens. phippsii: after James B. Phipps, plant collector in Zimbabwe, particularly in the Chimani |
Habitat: | Quartzite sandy grassland, mostly above the Brachystegia tree line. |
Altitude range: (metres) | 1400 - 1800 m |
Flowering time: | |
Worldwide distribution: | This subspecies is only found in the Chimanimani Mountains of Mozambique and Zimbabwe |
Zimbabwe distribution: | E |
Growth form(s): | |
Endemic status: | Near Endemic |
Red data list status: | Lower Risk - near threatened |
Insects associated with this species: | |
Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
Literature: |
Chapano, C. & Mamuto, M. (2003). Plants of the Chimanimani District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 25. Darbyshire, I., Timberlake, J., Osborne, J., Rokni, S., Matimele, H., Langa. C., Datizua, C., de Sousa, C., Alves, T., Massingue, A., Hadj-Hammou, J., Dhanda, S., Shah, T., Wursten, B. (2019). The endemic plants of Mozambique: diversity and conservation status Phytotaxa 136 Page 76. Golding, J.S. (ed.) (2002). Zimbabwe Plant Red Data List. Southern African Plant Red Data Lists. SABONET 14 Page 173. as Eriospermum phippsii Goodier, R. & Phipps, J.B. (1961). A revised checklist of the vascular plants of the Chimanimani Mountains Kirkia 1 Page 51. as Eriospermum sp. near E. abyssinicum Mapaura, A. (2002). Endemic Plant Species of Zimbabwe. Kirkia 18(1) Page 128. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 90. Perry, P.L. (2010). Eriospermaceae Flora Zambesiaca 13(2) Pages 3 - 4. Timberlake, J., Darbyshire, I., Wursten, B., Hadj-Hammou, J., Ballings, P., Mapaura, A., Matimele, H., Banze, A., Chipanga, H., Muassinar, D., Massunde, J., Chelene, I., Osborne, J., Shah, T. (2016). Chimanimani Mountains: Botany and Conservation. Report produced under CEPF Grant 63512. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London. Page 47. Wild, H. (1964). The endemic species of the Chimanimani Mountains and their significance Kirkia 4 Pages 134 - 135. Protologue as Eriospermum phippsii Wursten, B., Timberlake, J. & Darbyshire, I. (2017). The Chimanimani Mountains: an updated checklist. Kirkia 19(1) Page 81. |
Home | > | List of families | > | Eriospermaceae | > | Eriospermum | > | mackenii |