Caperoses - Cliffortia - of Africa's Journal

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February 22, 2022

Climbers Friend on Table Mountain.

There are three very similar species on Table Mountain, all commonly identified as Climbers Friend, or Cliffortia ruscifolia.
However they are "quite" distinct:

The Key in the Cliffortia guide tells us about C. theodori-friesii (what happened to hyphens being banned from scientific names?) and C. ruscifolia, but does not include C. tridentata.
Both are Peninsula endemics, with C. tridentata only found on the Back Table, and C. theodori-friesii extending to Constantiaberg..
For a long time C. tridentata was considered a hybrid between the other two species, but is not closely related to C. t-f at all.

Key:
Leaves unifoliolate, multinerved, not forming brachyblasts. Leaves shortly lanceolate, 10–20 × 3–5 mm, margins entire without teeth . . . Cliffortia theodori-friesii Theodors Climbersfriend

Leaves unifoliolate, multinerved, forming brachyblasts. Stems usually hairy. Leaves usually hairy, at least below; female sepals recurved . . . Cliffortia ruscifolia series
Leaf margins entire; flowers clustered in heads with modified reduced leaves . . . Cliffortia ruscifolia Climbers Friend
Leaf margins entire, or with an occ. tooth or two; flowers clustered in heads with normal leaves ... Cliffortia tridentata Trident Caperose

In addition C. tridentata has:
Leaves less hairy than ruscifolia, and broader (more broadly ovate).
It frequently has both male and female flowers (whilst male flowers are rare in ruscifolia on the Peninsula).

Compare them:
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/582452-Cliffortia-theodori-friesii
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?ident_user_id=chris_whitehouse&taxon_id=528767 (C. ruscifolia excluding unconfirmed identifications)
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/574077-Cliffortia-tridentata

Posted on February 22, 2022 09:54 AM by tonyrebelo tonyrebelo | 4 comments | Leave a comment

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