Protea Atlas Logo
  Home
  Mission
  Overview of Project
  Project Staff
  Sponsors
  Achievements
  Checking, Illustrations
  Upcoming Activities
  Id and  Species Lists
  Protea Information
  Protea Gallery
  Growing Proteas
  Interim Dist. Maps
  Publications
  Afrikaanse Inligting

  SANBI

Paranomi from George


logo2.gif (4851 bytes)The long debate about the species of Paranomus found near George appears to be over at last. In September we managed to visit most of the populations and they are all the same, even though the eastern populations are a little more delicate.

The confusion arose from the fact that only Long-head - Paranomus dispersus was known from the Outeniquas north of George. So various atlassers recorded the Paranomus as Paranomus dispersus. Chris Berens first picked up the problem that the plants were Scented Sceptre - Paranomus dregei and the matter was rectified, except that not all atlassers heard the news. For two years all proceeded smoothly, although no one bothered about the old errors. And then a delicate form was found east of the Oudtshoorn roads. The experts all pronounced it to be Kouga Sceptre - Paranomus esterhuysenae, and most of the atlassers readily started calling it this. However, the distribution patterns did not make sense: at some localities different atlassers had at different times called the same plants by all three names. Nor was there any pattern by aspect, altitude or any other obvious feature. Something was clearly wrong.

Field trips in 1998 missed the flowering season, but this year we managed to get good flowering material. We found Paranomus dispersus on the extreme, dry, north edge of the ranges at one site. All the remainder were Paranomus dregei, quite different from Paranomus esterhuysenae. Part of the problem is that the last revision of the genus failed to adequately describe the species - insufficient measurements are included and diagnostic features are not given. The keys only dealt with variations known to Levyns in 1972, and the gracile form thus keys out incorrectly. We will recircumscribe these differences in a paper next year. However, first we must determine the identity of the Paranomus from Dwarsberg south of Langkloof. Its locality is exactly midway between the known distributions of the two species. What will it be?

Tony Rebelo


Back PAN 44