Expanding and subdividing the southern and south-tropical African Kalanchoe [subg. Kalanchoe] sect. Raveta (Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae): description of K. [sect. Raveta] ser. Raveta, K. [sect. Raveta] ser. Longiflorae, and K. [sect. Raveta] ser. Rotundifoliae
Author
Smith, Gideon F.
text
Phytotaxa
2024
2024-06-21
655
1
1
20
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.655.1.1
journal article
10.11646/phytotaxa.655.1.1
1179-3163
13217051
Kalanchoe
[subg.
Kalanchoe
] sect.
Raveta
Smith (2022b: 210).
Type
:—
Kalanchoe thyrsiflora
Harvey (1862: 380)
, designated by Smith (2022b: 210).
Homotypic synonyms
:—
K
. [infragen. unranked]
Transvaalenses
Berger (1930: 407, as “§ 8”) (see
Turland
et al
. 2018
: Art. 37.3).
Kalanchoe
subg.
Fernandesiae
Smith (2020a: 5)
.
Designation not validly published
:—“[
Kalanchoe
/
Cotyledon
] sect.
Raveta
” Raymond-Hamet (1916: 83–84).
Diagnosis
:—Taxa grouped in
K
. sect.
Raveta
differ from other taxa included in
Kalanchoe
by a combination of characters that includes that they are glabrous, glaucous or densely white-waxy or rarely tomentose, herbaceous, perennial or multiannual succulent plants.
Leaves
range from very large to very small, are variously shaped and sized, straight to variously longitudinally folded, sometimes recurved, and not (leaf-)bulbiliferous. Leaf
margins
are entire or variously crenate. The
inflorescence
is a dense- or sparse-flowered corymbose cyme or elongate thyrse. Plantlet development on
peduncles
varies from infrequent to occasional.
Flowers
are variously horizontally spreading to slightly erect to fully erect at anthesis. The
corolla tube
is often greenish to strongly greenish-infused, glabrous, and sometimes densely covered in a white-waxy substance, with the
corolla lobes
being shades of pinkish red, orange, yellow or white, slightly erect, horizontally spreading, or recurved, sometimes strongly so.
Filaments
are short, inserted ± medially or higher up in the corolla tube, and often in two distinct whorls.
Anthers
are included or only slightly exserted.
Squamae
are cuneiform-quadrangular, apically somewhat 3-lobed or ribbon-like-linear.
Description
:—Annual, biennial, multiannual or perennial, glabrous or densely white-waxy or glaucous or rarely tomentose, small to large, robust, herbaceous, terrestrial, succulent plants.
Stems
often weak, shrub-like branched, if not annual sprouting new stems from base after flowering or higher up along stems and branches.
Leaves
distinctly or slightly reddish-infused, opposite, free or basally contiguous, fleshy, glabrous or rarely tomentose, often densely white-waxy, persistent or deciduous lower down, obovate to oblanceolate to oblong to round;
margins
entire or variously crenate.
Inflorescence
a terminal, dense- or sparse-flowered corymbose cyme or elongate thyrse, generally many-flowered, growing point gradually transitioning into
peduncle
with regular basal leaves lower down and similar, but much smaller bract-like leaves higher up.
Flowers
4-merous, erect, spreading-erect or spreading to slightly pendulous, ± elliptic, ± gradually urceolate, or abruptly urceolate;
calyx
4-partite, with sepals variously fused;
sepals
prominent or minute;
corolla
4-partite, fused into a tube;
corolla tube
usually much longer than calyx and lobes, glabrous or densely covered in white-waxy substance;
corolla lobes
patent, erectly spreading to recurved;
stamens
8, often in two distinct whorls;
filaments
glabrous, fused to corolla tube medially or higher up;
anthers
included or very slightly exserted;
carpels
4, free;
squamae
4, cuneiform-quadrangular and apically somewhat 3-lobed or ribbon-like-linear;
ovary
apically ± abruptly constricted, sometimes stipitate;
style
short.
Seed
ellipsoid to slightly banana-shaped-curved, very small, numerous.
Number of included series and species
:—Three series and 20 species (see
Table 1
for the sequencing of the species). A.
Kalanchoe
ser.
Raveta
: 1.
Kalanchoe thyrsiflora
Harvey (1862: 380)
; 2.
K. luciae
Hamet (1908b: 256)
; 3.
K. montana
Compton (1967: 295)
; 4.
K. wildii
Raym.
-Hamet ex Fernandes (1978: 204); 5.
K. winteri
Gideon F.Sm., N.R.Crouch & Mich.Walters
in Crouch
et al
. (2016a: 219); 6.
K. crouchii
Smith & Figueiredo (2018b: 87)
; 7.
K. benbothae
Smith & Crouch (2021: 109)
; and 8.
K. deliae
Smith (2023d: 133)
]; B.
K
. ser.
Longiflorae
: 1.
Kalanchoe longiflora
Wood (1903
: t. 320); 2.
K. leblanciae
Hamet (1912: 294)
; and 3.
K. sexangularis
Brown (1913: 120)
]; and C.
K
. ser.
Rotundifoliae
: 1.
Kalanchoe rotundifolia
(Haworth 1824: 188) Haworth (1825: 31)
; 2.
K. stearnii
Raymond-Hamet (1941: 334)
; 3.
K. decumbens
Compton (1967: 294)
; 4.
K. alticola
Compton (1975: 47)
; 5.
K. neglecta
Tölken (1978: 90)
; 6.
K. waterbergensis
Van Jaarsveld (2017: 169)
; 7.
K. klopperae
Smith & Figueiredo (2022c: 106)
; 8.
K. gideonsmithii
Crouch & Figueiredo (2022: 234)
; 9.
K. krigeae
Smith & Figueiredo (2023b: 284)
; and 10.
Kalanchoe
sp. nov.