Rubus, 2021

Beek, Abraham Van De, 2021, Rubi Capenses: a further contribution to the knowledge of the genus Rubus (Rosaceae) in South Africa, Phytotaxa 515 (1), pp. 1-71 : 31

Series Scleri A.Beek ser. nov.

Type:— Rubus mundtii Chamisso & Schlechtendal (1827: 18)

Diagnosis: —Stem rigid, erect to arching; leaves abaxially grey or white tomentose; inflorescences often small, rigid.

Notes: — Chamisso & Schlechtendal (1827) described two Rubus species from the samples that were collected by Mundt and Maire in the Cape, R. chrysocarpus and R. mundtii . Ecklon and Zeyher distributed specimens under these names, and Drège (1843), following E. Meyer (in sched.), lumped these as ‘ R. discolor Meyer’, a name that is not only a later homonym of R. discolor Weihe & Nees [1824: 30 ; = R. ulmifolius Schott (1818: 42) ], but also an invalidly published nomen nudum. Later authors lumped both with R. rigidus .

The extant specimens belong to a group of discolorous brambles with rigid stems, usually rather small leaves, and often small inflorescences. These are well distinguished from members of Rubus ser. Rigidi with their mounding or scrambling primocanes and larger inflorescences, and therefore they are described as a separate series.