Eriospermum pubescens - South of Oudtshoorn
Hereby a shortened version of the original description. Reference: A Revision of the Genus Eriospermum (Eriospermaceae) Pauline L. Perry Bolus Herbarium, University of Cape Town, 1994
Plants with hysteranthous leaves, solitary or clump forming, inflorescence up to 320 mm high. Tuber simple or with horizontally growing stolons, irregularly-shaped, up to 90 mm long and 40 mm wide; interior maroon-red often with darker vesicles; growing point basal to lateral with a groove for the shoot. Old leaf sheaths up to 50 mm long and 5 mm wide, becoming loose and up to 15 mm wide at ground level, light brown, membranous. Leaf solitary or in clumps, prostrate or sub-erect; contemporary leaf sheath exserted up to 30 mm and up to 4 mm diameter, green covered with golden, straight hairs, channelled; lamina ovate to orbicular cordate up to 60 mm from the apex to the depression and up to 70 mm wide, adaxial surface green glabrous or with a few scattered hairs, abaxial surface green suffused with red, covered with adpressed straight, silvery or golden hairs. Peduncular bract barely exserted, tipped reddish-brown. Peduncle up to 250 mm long, 2 mm diameter, glaucous green. Raceme lax, up to 200 mm long, 50 mm wide. Bracts triangular, semi-amplexicaul, 1.5-2.0 mm long, membranous, white with a reddish-brown midnerve, somewhat spurred. Pedicels lowest up to 65 mm long in flower, shorter above, arcuate, erecto-patent, glaucous. Flowers triangular, spreading up to 12 mm diameter. Tepals dimorphic, white with an olive-green midnerve overlaid with red striations, especially on the outer tepalsand the apices; outer tepals spreading with a recurved apex, elliptic, 5 mm long and 2 mm wide, inner erect, spathulate with a crisped pinched-in apex, 5 mm long and 2 mm wide. Filaments adnate to the base ofthe tepals for I mm, white or bright yellow, broadly ovate, inner slightly longer; anthers pale green. Ovary globose to ovoid, 2 mm long and wide, pale green sometimes purple mottled. Style cylindrical, 1.5 mm long, white.
Flowering time: February to Apri!. Leafing period: April to October.
Distribution and habitat: E. pubescens occurs mainly in the western and southern Cape where it occurs on the transition between karroid vegetation, on shale-derived clay soils and amongst Fynbos vegetation on more sandy soils over quartzitic rocks, also in Renosterveld.
Diagnostic features: In leaf E. pubescens may be distinguished by the silvery or golden hairs arranged flat against the under surface of the lamina. The inflorescence of flowers with dimorphic tepals is not so readily separated from others in the group (Figure 96).
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Leaf.
The heart shaped leaves that protrude above the ground are similar to those of Eriospermum capense. The hairs on the leaves easily distinguish it from the latter.
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The abaxial (underneath) side of the leaf with hairs adpressed to the leaf surface.
Quantities are limited and for now plants will only be available on Plant Auction.