Trianthema subg. Papularia (Aizoaceae) in Africa

Background and aims - Following a comprehensive study in the genus Trianthema (Aizoaceae -Sesuvioideae), in which the subdivision into two subgenera was confirmed and analysed in detail (Hartmann et al. 2011), including new clear delimitations of 17 species worldwide in T. subg. Papularia, a survey of the African species is presented here. Methods - Normal practices of herbarium taxonomy have been applied to study all herbarium material available, mainly from B, C, E, HBG, K, L, MO, UTB, WAG, and Z. Key results - Of the seventeen species in T. subg. Papularia, twelve are found in Africa: T. corallicola, T. corymbosa, T. crystallina, T. hereroensis, T mozambiquensis, T parvifolia, T. salsoloides, T sanguinea, T sedifolia, T sheilae, T transvaalensis and T. vleiensis. Morphological investigations were undertaken as widely as the available material permitted, resulting in distinct character set per species, showing also that the area of each speices is much smaller than hitherto anticipated and used in flora treatments.