Cynoglossum alticola Hilliard & B.L.Burtt

Madika, Lydia K. & Moteetee, Annah Ntsamaeeng, 2022, Taxonomic revision of the southern African species of the genus Cynoglossum L. (Boraginaceae), PhytoKeys 193, pp. 9-42 : 16-17

1. Cynoglossum alticola Hilliard & B.L.Burtt , Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 43(3): 343 (1986).

Type. South Africa ♀♂ Eastern Cape, Barkly East District (3027): Ben McDhui (-DB), 5 Feb 1983, O.M. Hilliard and B.L. Burtt 16468 (E-image!, holotype; NUimage!, isotype).

Perennial herbs, 0.2–0.6 m in height. Basal leaves 76–270× 8–18 mm, lanceolate, densely pubescent, persistent; margins entire. Stem leaves 35–120× 5–10 mm, lanceolate, apex acute, base cuneate, margins entire, soft woolly hairs. Trichomes spread equally on both the adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces, unicellular hair base, not bulbous on both leaf surfaces. Inflorescence racemose, clustered at the apex; pedicel 4–10 mm long, lengthening considerably in fruit. Calyx ca. 4 mm long, lobes elliptic-oblong, densely hairy on inner surface, apices obtuse. Corolla deep blue; lobe 4× 3 mm diameter, oblong, round apex. Nutlets convex, 6–9× 5–6 mm; glochidia short and thick at the base, densely packed on nutlet, tips multi-angular ( Figure 3).

Phenology. February to May.

Conservation status. Least Concern ( Raimondo et al. 2009).

Diagnostic characters. Cynoglossum alticola can be distinguished by its thick, convex nutlets. Among the southern African species, it has a unique appearance due to the presence of woolly trichomes that cover the whole plant. Furthermore, it has larger nutlets (6–9× 5–6 mm) than other species (less than 6× 5 mm). According to Hilliard and Burtt (1986), this species is related to C. alpinum (Brand) B.L. Burtt from the highlands of Ethiopia, with which it shares nutlet shape and size, as well as the leaf texture and colour. The difference is observed on the fornices (small crests in the corolla tube of a plant), as in C. alticola they are broad and short while in C. alpinum they are long and narrow.

Distribution and habitat. The species is restricted to the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and Lesotho ( Figure 4), where it is found growing on mountainous terrain and on damp slopes near streams.

Additional specimens examined. South Africa. Eastern Cape: 3028 (Matatiele): Drakensberg , near Barkly East (-CA), 19 Dec 1982, P.B. Phillipson 705 ( PRE) ; between Malpas and Nek (- CA), 13 Dec 1995, T. Dold and M. Cocks 2058 ( GRA) .

Lesotho. 2929 (Underberg): Mokhotlong District (-AC), Jan 1953, L.C.C. Liebenberg 5789 ( PRE) ; 28 Feb 1947, A. Jacot Guillarmod 997 ( PRE) .