Otholobium lucens
| Otholobium lucens | |
|---|---|
| |
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Otholobium |
| Species: | O. lucens
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| Binomial name | |
| Otholobium lucens | |
Otholobium lucens is a shrub of up to 60 cm (24 in) high that is assigned to the pea family. It has alternately set clover-like leaves crowding on the new growth, while older parts have lost their leaves. The white, pea-like flowers occur with 3 or 6 together in the leaf axils. This rare species is an endemic of the Swartberg mountains in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It flowers between July and February.[1]
Taxonomy
A specimen of this shrub were first collected in 1907. In 2017, Charles Stirton and A. Muthama Muasya considered it sufficiently different from other Otholobium species, in particular O. polystictum, to distinguish and name it O. lucens. No synonyms are known.[1] The name of the genus Otholobium is a combination of the Greek words ὠθέω (ōthéō) meaning to push and λοβός (lobos) meaning pod, which Stirton selected because its fruit seems to be pushed out of the calyx.[2] The species epithet lūcēns is a Latin word meaning "shining".[3]
Description
The flowers occur in 1 or 2 groups of three in the
Otholobium lucens has similarities with O. polystictum, which is a laxly branched, willowy shrub up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) (not a rounded, densely branched subshrub of up to 60 cm), with asymmetrical lateral leaflets (not symmetrical), lance-shaped stipules (not awl-shaped), more and larger glands on upper leaf surface, that become black when dried (not similarly sized and distributed glands on both surfaces, drying orange), oblong bracts subtending the flower triplets (not a fan-shaped bract with several teeth), calyx lobes of about 65% of length of flower (not only half as long as the flower), and a mauve corolla with a reddish purple and white central nectar guide (not white flowers without a nectar guide).[1]
Conservation, distribution and ecology
Otholobium lucens is a vulnerable species, because only three locations are currently known within a distribution area of less than 50 km2 (19 sq mi). These locations are potentially threatened by infrastructure expansion and crop cultivation. Here, the species grows in Kango Limestone Renosterveld, typically in the transition zone between sandstone and shale derived soils in the foothills of the Groot Swartberg Mountains.[4] It occurs at 600–750 m (1,970–2,460 ft) elevation. The plants usually flower between July and November, but fires will trigger flowering as late as February.[1]
References
- ^ S2CID 4311078.
- ^ "Otholobium virgatum". Casabio.
- ^ "lucens". Wiktionary. 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Otholobium sp.nov. (Stirton, Vlok & Zantovska 11561 NBG)". Red List of South African Plants. SANBI.