Notes on new and misunderstood taxa of Cyrtanthus (Amaryllidaceae: Cyrtantheae) from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Cyrtanthus aureolinus Snijman is a new, rare species of fire lily, which is localized in a vlei on the northern slopes of the Groot Swartberg, Western Cape. The upright or slightly spreading, yellow to cream-coloured flowers and the perigone tube which gradually widens to the throat suggest that it is closely related to the Western Cape endemic, C. ochroleucus (Herb.) Burch. ex Steud., and C. mackenii Hook.f., a variable species from southern KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape. The species differs mainly by the shape, size and position of the tepals and the length of the filaments. Cyrtanthus mackenii var. cooperi (Baker) R.A.Dyer is raised to subspecies rank as C. mackenii subsp. cooperi (Baker) Snijman. Its hysteranthous leaf habit and grassland habitat differ from the riverine habitat of the evergreen C. mackenii subsp. mackenii. Described in detail are C. aureolinus, C. ochroleucus, and C. mackenii.