Stachys pseudohumifusa Sebsebe subsp. minutiflora Y.B.Harv.

Meerts, Pierre, 2022, New identifications of Lamiaceae (Lamioideae and Scutellarioideae) from D. R. Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, Bothalia (a 9) 52 (1), pp. 1-7 : 5

* Stachys pseudohumifusa Sebsebe subsp. minutiflora Y.B.Harv.

Distribution: D.R. Congo, Zambia.

Habitat: Savannas and dambos, in seasonally waterlogged soil; alt. ± 1300 m in D. R. Congo , alt. 1000–1300 m in Zambia .

Specimens examined: D. R. CONGO: Haut-Katanga: Ruashi , 11°37’S, 27°32’E, fond de vallée, terre jaune argileuse, 19 Dec. 1956, Detilleux 264 (BR).

Discussion: The cited collection is only the third one of this subspecies. It is situated ± 350 and 150 km, respectively, north of the two previous collections ( Harvey 1996). The ecology of the species in its Congolese locality is quite similar to both Zambian collections, i.e. herbaceous vegetation on moist soil. The locality is situat- ed in a region that has been under increasing anthropogenic pressure during the last decades due to urbanization and mining activities, and the species could no longer exist there. Two specimens from Tanzania recorded on GBIF [Bidgood, Congdon & Vollesen 1291 (BR, K), Bidgood, Congdon & Vollesen 2373 (BR, K)] are actually wrongly databased, being Stachys pseudonigricans Gürke. Two other subspecies have been described, i.e. subsp. saxeri Y.B.Harv. ( Cameroon) and subsp. pseudohumifusa ( Tanzania); the latter could exist in Haut-Katanga; it is recognized by its longer corolla (10–11 mm).

Bibliography: Sebsebe (1993), Harvey (1996), Paton et al. (2009).