Pauridia serrata subsp. albiflora (Nel) Snijman & Kocyan

Snijman, Deirdre A. & Kocyan, Alexander, 2013, The genus Pauridia (Hypoxidaceae) amplified to include Hypoxis sect. Ianthe, Saniella and Spiloxene, with revised nomenclature and typification, Phytotaxa 116 (1), pp. 19-33 : 30

Pauridia serrata subsp. albiflora (Nel) Snijman & Kocyan , comb. & stat. nov.

Ξ Spiloxene serrata var. albiflora (Nel) Garside (1936: 268)

Bas.:— Ianthe serrata var. albiflora Nel (1914: 293) . Type (lectotype designated here):— SOUTH AFRICA. [Northern Cape], Onder-Bokkeveld, Oorlogskloof, 2400 ft [732 m], R. Schlechter 10945 (B! No. 100165526 [image], isolectotypes BOL!, K! No. K000255997 [image], PRE!, S! [image], WAG! [image], ZT!). Two collections are mentioned in the protologue. Of these, Schlechter 10945 is the most well represented in herbaria. The specimen in K, which is inscribed as Ianthe serrata var. albiflora by Nel, is designated as lectotype.

= Hypoxis alba var. gracilis Baker (1878: 102) , syn. nov. Type (lectotype designated here):—(illustration in) Loddiges (1825: t. 1074). Apart from the illustration in Loddiges (1825), none of the other original material given in the protologue indicates that the flowers of this taxon are white. Since the presence of white flowers is diagnostic, Loddiges’ illustration is designated as the lectotype.

Note:— Baker (1878) described Hypoxis alba var. gracilis as having solitary flowers which, from his reference to Loddiges (1825: t. 1074), he infers as having white tepals. Only rarely does Pauridia alba have solitary flowers and if so, the inflorescence is longer than the leaves. In contrast, Loddiges’ illustration of Hypoxis alba var. gracilis shows the inflorescence as long as the leaves, a characteristic feature of P. serrata subsp. albiflora . The two taxa also differ in the size and shape of the inflorescence bracts. These are conspicuously large on P. alba and inconspicuous in P. serrata subsp. albiflora , as suggested in the illustration.

The white-flowered populations of S. serrata , previously treated as var. albiflora are recognized here as P. serrata subsp. albiflora , being morphologically and ecologically distinct from the yellow-flowered and widespread populations constituting subsp. serrata .