Three new species and one new subspecies of Euryops (Asteraceae: Senecioneae) from the Klein Karoo in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Author Vlok, J. H. J. text South African Journal of Botany 2020 2020-09-30 133 167 173 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2020.07.025 journal article 286104 10.1016/j.sajb.2020.07.025 108593c9-fd23-4fa7-80b2-61df903bb150 1727-9321 10496796 3.1. Euryops dasyphyllus J.H.J.Vlok, Sp. nov ePagEuryops dasyphyllus B.Nord. & Vlok ms.( Manning and Goldblatt, 2012 ) Type: South Africa , Western Cape Province , Ladismith (3320): Anysberg Nature Reserve , about 10 km west of Touwsfontein house, (-CB), 650 m , 19 May 1989 , J.H.J.Vlok 2121 ( NBG , holo.; S , PRE , iso .) . Single-stemmed, divaricately branched shrub up to 60 cm tall; young branches densely leafy, leaves persisting a maximum of two years on a branch. Leaves erect with tips spreading, 6—16 X 1 mm , simple, terete with deep, narrow groove adaxially, acuminate with a small, reddish-brown mucro, lanate-pubescent with white, dendritic trichomes. Peduncles terminal, solitary, 90—260 mm long, ca. 1 mm thick, reddish-brown. Involucre widely cup-shaped, 8—10 mm diam. Involucral bracts uniseriate, 11 or 12 glabrous, limbs connate for ca. half their length, lanceolate, 6—7 X 2—3 mm , 3-veined, membranous along upper margin, minutely ciliate-puberulous towards acuminate tip. Ray fl orets 8 to 10; corolla yellow, tube cylindrical, 2 mm long; lamina oblong, 10—12 mm long, 5-veined; style branches recurved, ca. 1 mm long. Disc fl orets 40 to 50; corolla yellow, 5—6 mm long; tube cylindrical, 2—3 mm long; limb campanulate, 3—4 mm long, with triangular-acute lobes. Anthers 2 mm long with lanceolate appendage. Style terete with base swollen, style branches recurved, ca. 1 mm long. Pappus 0. Cypselas obovate, ca. 1.0 X 0.75 mm , tuberculate, surface densely covered with minute white papillae; ridges not prominent. ( Fig. 1 ; Plate 1 ). Flowering period : May. Plants respond rapidly to rain and flower within three weeks after rain. Flowering may thus depend on rainfall events, rather than the season. Distribution and ecology: Euryops dasyphyllus is known only from the Ladismith district where it occurs in Succulent Karoo vegetation, more specifically in the Western Little Karoo vegetation unit sensu Mucina and Rutherford (2006) . At a finer scale Vlok and Schutte-Vlok (2015) described this vegetation as Scholtzbosveld, a vegetation unit in which Pteronia pallens L.f. is the dominant species. E. dasyphyllus occurs on a small plateau in dry, clayey soil with some calcrete and quartz pebbles on the surface. It is locally abundant, but populations are localised. Diagnosis: Euryops dasyphyllus belongs to sect. Psilosteum as the ray and disc florets lack pappus bristles. It is unique in this section in having simple, entire and lanate-pubescent leaves. Its affinities within the group are not clear but it is most similar to E. anthemoides B.Nord. and E. tenuilobus (DC.) B.Nord. , but these two species differ in having lobed leaves and they do not occur in the Klein Karoo. Conservation notes: Despite several searches this species was only observed in a similar habitat about 3 km south-east of the type locality ( Fig. 3 ). Part of the type locality was severely disturbed when the area was previously ploughed to establish Old-man Saltbush ( Atriplex nummularia ). Following Raimondo et al. (2009) , I propose a conservation status of Endangered ( B2 (a) & (b)) for this species. Fig. 1. Euryops dasyphyllus , drawn from the type specimen. A, flowering branch; B, ray floret; C, disc floret; D, anther; E, style branches of disc floret; F, mature cypsela. Artist: Tin Sj¨oberg. Etymology : The specific name alludes to the woolly hair on the leaves. 3.1.1. Changes to species key This species can be accommodated in the existing key to sect. Psiloteum ( Nordenstam, 1968: 325 ) by changing couplet 20 to the following: (i) Leaves densely hairy... E. dasyphyllus (ii) Leaves glabrous... continue with existing key.