Charles H Stirton

University of Cape Town | UCT · Department of Biological Sciences

Indigofera L. is the most diverse genus in the tribe Indigofereae and the third largest genus in the Fabaceae with over 750 species distributed in most tropical to temperate areas of the world. The centre of diversity of the genus lies on the African continent, accounting for over two-thirds of its global diversity. Diversification of Indigofer a’s...

A new species from the Western Cape, South Africa is described: Aspalathus praetermissa—a highly localized and critically endangered endemic, occurring between Elandsbaai, Redelinghuys, and Paleisheuwel. This species is morphologically similar to A. quinquefolia subsp. virgata, but differs in having small, 5.5–6.0 mm long, pale yellow flowers (vers...

Background and aims – Following detailed phylogenetic and biogeographic studies of the tribe Psoraleeae, the genus Psoralea L. was shown to have been derived out of Otholobium C.H.Stirt. As Psoralea has nomenclatural priority, Otholobium has been subsumed into Psoralea, whereby two broad subgeneric groups are aligned with the previous descriptions...

Cabari Gregório & D.B.O.S.Cardoso (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae) is a recently described neotropical genus of trees, with species predominantly distributed in the Amazon basin. After robust evidence from a recent phylogenetic analysis of nuclear and plastid DNA sequence data, the genus was segregated from Clathrotropis (Benth.) Harms. Cabari is a ge...

Indigofera sect. Brachypodae DC. is a large group of approximately 40 species within the Cape Clade, mostly restricted to the Core Cape Region (CCR), with only two species extending eastwards to Grahamstown. This section has been subdivided into four subsections based primarily on morphological characters. Subsect. Bra-chypodae is the most diverse...

We describe four new species from the Western Cape, South Africa. Aspalathus strigosa Du Preez & C.H.Stirt. is only known by the type collection from the southern slopes of the Klein Swartberg Mountains near Ladismith. Aspalathus albomagnifica Du Preez & C.H.Stirt. is a white-flowered species from lowland renosterveld and fynbos from Hartenbos on t...

Molecular phylogenetic studies focused on the early-branching papilionoid legumes have revealed many new clades and supported several generic realignments, yet the monophyly of some of the constituent genera has remained unassessed. This is the case for the Amazonian genus Clathrotropis of the tribe Ormosieae. The genus, as traditionally circumscri...

Four new Indigofera species are described from the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR). Indigofera barkeri is a new annual from the Richtersveld, with small flowers, 3.5À4.0 mm long, pinnately trifoliolate leaves and laterally flattened seeds. Indigofera dodii is endemic to the area around Cape Town, growing on granite and shaly slopes. It has api...

Indigofera L. section Oligophyllae DC. comprises nine species, phylogenetically located within the Cape Clade, largely restricted to the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) of South Africa. The group is characterised by having mostly trifoliolate, glabrous or sparsely hairy leaves that emerge from woody brachyblasts, bracts that often remain persi...

The new species Ormosia corcovada (Fabaceae, Papilionoideae, Ormosieae) from the lower Cauca River basin in NW Colombia is described and illustrated, and its taxonomic affinities are discussed. Specimens of Ormosia corcovada are usually confused with Ormosia holerythra. Both species belong to Ormosia section Unicolores but are geographically and mo...

Despite over 300 years of botanical inventory, new species continue to be discovered within the Greater Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. Recent field work in the ecotone of the Fynbos and Succulent Karoo biomes has revealed three species of Ficinia that are new to science. Based on field observation and comparison with existing material in ma...

Psoraleeae consist of c. 228 species in ten genera, distributed worldwide but mostly in the temperate biome. Here, we reconstruct the phylogenetic history of Psoraleeae using eight molecular markers (rpl32-trnL, trnQ-rps16, trnS-trnG, matK, rbcLa, rpoB-trnC, trnL-trnF and ITS) to test the monophyly and previous hypotheses on generic relationships a...

In this study, Indigofera wenholdiae , a new species of Fabaceae from the Agulhas Plain Region of the Western Cape Province, South Africa, is described. A composite photographic plate is included along with a distribution map, description of habitat and ecology and proposed IUCN conservation status. Indigofera wenholdiae is unique in the I. brachys...

The papilionoid legume genus Ormosia (Fabaceae) comprises about 150 species of trees and exhibits a striking disjunct geographical distribution between the New World- and Asian and Australasian wet tropics and subtropics. Modern classifications of Ormosia are not grounded on a well-substantiated phylogenetic hypothesis and have been limited to just...

Otholobium outrampsii (Psoraleeae, Fabaceae) - a new species from the Western Cape Province, South Africa, is described and illustrated. This species is closely related to O. curtisiae but can be morphologically distinguished by it having semi-conduplicate, minutely glandular, softly pilose leaflets (versus flat, prominently glandular, glabrous lea...

Polhillia is a small, but poorly known genus of legumes endemic to the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) of South Africa. The genus was described three decades ago to accommodate species erroneously placed in Argyrolobium and other Cape legume genera. Polhillia is the third most threatened plant genus in South Africa, hence priority for taxonomi...

Eriosema comprises c. 150 species and has a pantropical distribution and two centres of diversity, Africa and America. The species occur in tropical savannas and grasslands, including the cerrado in Brazil. They have adapted to these environments by developing specialized underground organs, and an abundance of trichomes. Here we present the first...

Background and aims: The idea that genome (size) evolution in eukaryotes could be driven by environmental factors is still vigorously debated. In extant plants, genome size correlates positively with stomatal size, leading to the idea that conditions enabling the existence of large stomata in fossil plants also supported growth of their genome siz...

The taxonomy of several species allied to Ficinia pygmaea, that are perennials of small stature (typically under 100 mm) and with a capitate inflorescence, is contentious. Recent authors have considered Ficinia pygmaea to be conspecific with F. limosa, and these South African taxa have been thought to be allied to the Ethiopian taxon F. clandestina...

Thesium L., section Hagnothesium is endemic to the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR), South Africa. In the past there has been a propensity in revisionary work of the section Hagnothesium to split taxa into distinct species or vice-versa. Consequently, 15 different names exist although only 6 are accepted formally. Following recent molecular phy...

Background: The loss of biodiversity in Nigeria is escalating alarmingly. However, there is generally a paucity of information as to what taxa are endangered because of a dearth of functioning conservation agencies in Nigeria. Objectives: The aim of this research is to record the endangered medicinal and other economic plant species in the Sudan Sa...

Citation: Stirton CH, Bello A, Muasya AM (2018) Psoralea forbesiae (Psoraleeae, Fabaceae), a new species from the Swartberg Mountains of South Africa. PhytoKeys 99: 93-99. https://doi. Abstract Psoralea forbesiae C.H.Stirt., A.Bello & Muasya is a new species of Psoraleeae, Fabaceae. Psoralea forbesiae is endemic to the Swartberg Mountains and is a...

Introgression is interesting for plant evolutionary studies because it yields significant numbers of new genotypes, thus increasing genetic diversity, but also blurs species boundaries. Here we report a case of introgressive hybridization from a hybrid zone on the Swartberg Pass in the species rich Core Cape Subregion of South Africa. We analysed m...

This study determined the extent of horizontal gene transfer among rhizobial genera in the Core Cape Subregion (CCR) of South Africa and reconstructed the ancestral symbionts of the legumes. Phylogenies of two chromosomal genes (16S rRNA and recA) and one nodulation gene (nodA) of rhizobia, isolated from diverse legumes in the CCR, were reconstruct...

Over 760 legume species occur in the ecologically-heterogeneous Core Cape Subregion (CCR) of South Africa. This study tested whether the main symbionts of CCR legumes (Burkholderia and Mesorhizobium) are phylogenetically structured by altitude, pH and soil types. Rhizobial strains were isolated from field nodules of diverse CCR legumes and sequence...

Ten new species of Otholobium from South Africa are described: O. accrescens C. H. Stirt. & Muasya, O. dreweae C. H. Stirt. & Muasya, O. lanceolatum C. H. Stirt. & Muasya, O. lucens C. H. Stirt. & Muasya, O. nitens C. H. Stirt. & Muasya, O. piliferum C. H. Stirt. & Muasya, O. prodiens C. H. Stirt. & Muasya, O. sabulosum C. H. Stirt. & Muasya, O. sa...

Background: Legumes are an important component of the southern African flora, comprising nearly 1600 of the region’s 2300 angiosperm species. Although legumes are present in all major biomes of the region, various biomes comprise distinct legume assemblages partitioned into the major biomes (fynbos, grassland, savannah). For instance, the fynbos bi...

Ambiguous species delimitations and nomenclature are a major impediment for users of biodiversity information. This is more pronounced in plant lineages that have experienced recent and rapid diversification or where there is a tendency to lump many species under a general name. The papilionoid genus Psoralea L. is a young lineage (Pliocene, ca. 75...

Aims: The Cape Peninsula is a small area (471 km2), situated on the south-westernmost tip of the Core Cape Subregion (CCR) of South Africa. Within the Cape Peninsula, Fabaceae are the third most species-rich plant family (162 species) and they have the second highest number of endemic species after the Ericaceae. However, legumes are not the domina...

Our knowledge on rhizobia, bacteria involved in symbiotic Nitrogen fixation, has increased tremendously throughout the last decades. Within southern Africa, most of these associations involve the plant family Leguminosae, with the mimosoid and papilionoid lineages as the predominant hosts. The rhizobia fall mostly within the alpha- (e.g. Mesorhizob...

The classification of the legume family proposed here addresses the long-known non-monophyly of the traditionally recognised subfamily Caesalpinioideae, by recognising six robustly supported monophyletic subfamilies. This new classification uses as its framework the most comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of legumes to date, based on plastid matK...

Importance section: This study is the most comprehensive phylogenetic assessment of root-nodulating Burkholderia and investigates biogeographic and host-related patterns of the legume-rhizobial symbiosis in the South African Fynbos biome, as well as at global scales, including native species from the South American Caatinga and Cerrado biomes. Whi...

Seven species of Aspalathus from South Africa are described as new. Two of the species are from the KwaZulu-Natal Province (Aspalathus dahlgrenii C.H.Stirt. & Muasya; A. spinifera C.H.Stirt. & Muasya), two are from the Eastern Cape Province (A. modesta C.H.Stirt. & Muasya; A. usnoides C.H.Stirt. & Muasya), and the other three from the Western Cape...

Large-scale DNA barcoding provides a new technique for species identification and evaluation of relationships across various levels (populations and species) and may reveal fundamental processes in recently diverged species. Here, we analysed DNA sequence variation in the recently diverged legumes from the Psoraleeae (Fabaceae) occurring in the Cap...

The goal of this work is to study the evolution and the degree of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) within rhizobial genera of both Alpha- (Mesorhizobium, Rhizobium) and Beta (Burkholderia) Proteobacteria, originating from South African Fynbos legumes. By using a phylogenetic approach and comparing multiple chromosomal and symbiosis genes, we revealed...

A taxonomic revision of the South American genus Amburana comprised of three species is presented, including the new species A. erythrosperma which is described and illustrated. Amburana cearensis occurs widely in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. Amburana acreana occurs in the Bolivian, Brazilian and Peruvian Amazon. Amburana erythrosperma...

Two species of the African genus Psoralea L. (Psoraleeae, Fabaceae) have become naturalised in Australia. Psoralea pinnata L. is well recorded, and in this paper we report an unrecorded second species P. arborea Sims. Full descriptions and distributions in Australia are given for each species and a key is provided.

Rhizobial diversity and host preferences were assessed in 65 native Fynbos legumes of the papilionoid legume tribes Astragaleae, Crotalarieae, Genisteae, Indigofereae, Millettieae, Phaseoleae, Podalyrieae, Psoraleeae and Sesbanieae. Sequence analyses of chromosomal 16S rRNA, recA, atpD and symbiosis-related nodA, nifH genes in parallel with immunog...

The genus Psoralea L., comprising about 70 species, has its centre of diversity and endemism in the Greater Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. Species delimitation and identification in the genus are difficult. Many putative species are unpublished or known only by manuscript names. As a first step to address this problem this study reports on...

Two new species of Psoralea L. are described: Psoralea diturnerae A. Bello, C.H. Stirt. & Muasya, sp. nov. and P. vanberkelae C.H. Stirt., A. Bello & Muasya, sp. nov. Psoralea diturnerae is endemic to the Outeniqua mountains (Camferskloof) and is characterised by a mass of numerous basal shoots out of which emerge 2–3 woody stems up to 2 m tall, 3-...

Abstract— We present a detailed morphological study of three South American species of Ormosia (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae, genistoid clade) that have been confused in herbaria and in the literature. The three species are morphologically linked by the shared possession of relatively few leaflets, small, thin-walled fruits, and relatively small see...

Legume systematists have been making great progress in understanding evolutionary relationships within the Leguminosae (Fabaceae), the third largest family of flowering plants. As the phylogenetic picture has become clearer, so too has the need for a revised classification of the family. The organization of the family into three subfamilies and 42...

The tribe Psoraleeae (Leguminosae subfamily Papilionoideae) comprises 185 species in nine genera that have a nearly worldwide distribution, occurring predominantly in Mediterranean regions. About 60% of the species belong to the genera, Otholobium C.H.Stirt. and Psoralea L., which have a centre of diversity in the Cape Floristic Region of South Afr...

Quartz fields are islands of distinct vegetation in southern Africa. Such habitats differ from surrounding shale substrate in geomorphological and climatic attributes, and are dominated by a predominantly succulent flora with between 14% and 91% endemism. Previous studies have identified and surveyed quartz fields within the Succulent Karoo biome,...

On cover at head of title: University of Natal. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Cape Town, 1989. Computer disk in a pocket in back of v. 2. Includes reprints of articles from various journals. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-164).

Botanical work since 2008 on the Sleeping Giant section of the Kamdebooberge (Sneeuberg mountain complex, Eastern Cape, South Africa) has indicated that these mountains may be of significant conservation value. Accordingly, a precursory, rapid multi-disciplinary biodiversity assessment was undertaken in January 2011, focusing on plants, tetrapod ve...

A new species of Psoralea is described. Psoralea karooensis C.H. Stirt., Muasya & Vlok is endemic to mountain streams in the Klein Karoo region of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The new species is characterised by its flexuose habit of many stiff bare stems with the seasonal shoots arising apically in clusters and its greenish cream flowe...

Two new species of Ficinia (Cypereae, Cyperaceae) are described from South Africa. Ficinia has its centre of diversity in the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR), with c. 90% of the species growing in the Fynbos biome. Recent collections from the arid edge of the Fynbos biome and in the Succulent Karoo biome have revealed two species new to scienc...

A new species Aspalathus abbottii C.H. Stirt. & Muasya, is described. The species is known only from Oribi Flats, KwaZulu-Natal, where it grows in grassland vegetation. The new species is characterised by its rigid spreading habit, densely and shortly villous branches, glabrous bracts and bracteoles, and 1(2) bright yellow flowers borne on short la...

A new species of Psoralea is described. Psoralea margaretiflora C.H. Stirton & V.R. Clark is endemic to the Sneeuberg Centre of Floristic Endemism, Eastern Cape, South Africa. This resprouter is characterised by its small greenish-white flowers with a small trifid purple nectar patch and translucent veins; 5(-7)-pinnate leaflets; multi-branching er...

A new species, Isolepis namaquana Muasya & J.Viljoen, is described and illustrated. It is known from two localities in Namaqualand: near Kamieskroon and at the foot of the Matsikammaberge, where it grows in ephemeral wetlands. The tufted annual species is diagnosed by floral and fruit characters including glume size, bifid stigma and colliculate nu...

This paper briefly reports on the developments surrounding the Acacia name conservation controversy since the Nomenclature Section meeting at the Seventeenth International Botanical Congress at Vienna in 2005. Actions taken at Vienna led to the listing of Acacia Mill. with a conserved type in Appendix III (p. 286) of the current printed version of...

Petal structure and the distribution of pigments in petals were studied in relation to the functional anatomy of petals and the ways in which petals absorb and reflect light. We examined 201 species from 60 angiosperm families. Anthocyanins, betalains and ultraviolet-absorbing flavonoids were normally confined to the epidermal cells, occurring in s...

The inflorescence of Psoralea pinnata sensu lato is composed of dichasial cymes of three to seven flowers in each bract axil. However, the main inflorescence terminal is indeterminate. Cymes are very unusual among legumes, occurring in perhaps six or seven genera. The ‘cupulum’ is a unique structure found only in Psoralea among legumes. While highl...

Leaf anatomy is described from 17 species of Psoralea sensu stricto which includes four species of the genus Hallia Thunberg. Species of the two genera share many characters including the presence of rod-shaped crystals, similar stipule structure and a possible continuum in secretory cavity anatomy ranging from a small and non-trabeculate to a larg...

Wisdom is complex to define and the reasons why are explored. Ancient wisdom studies is a more neglected aspect of general wisdom studies. Very few psychological and asociela science sudies have looked at the historical roots of wisdom in east and west whereas philosophers and theologians have been studying the topic for generations.

A history of the site presently known as the National Botanic Garden of Wales.

Dussia atropurpurea is a new species found in Costa Rica and Panamá. It differs from all other Dussia species in this region in its dark purple sarcotesta. The only other species of Dussia with a sarcotesta of this colour is the Amazonian D. tessmannii which is clearly distinct morphologically. Sarcotesta colour is an important character for specie...

Taxa recognised in this revision are: Calpurnia aurea (Aiton) Benth. subsp. aurea; C. aurea (Aiton) Benth. subsp. indica Brummitt; C. floribunda Harv.; C. glabrata Brummitt; C. intrusa (R.Br. in W.T. Aiton) E.Mey.; C. reflexus A.J.Beaumont sp. nov.; C. sericea Harv. and C. woodii Schinz. A putative hybrid between C. sericea and C. woodii is recorde...

A new species, Psoralea peratica, from the Western Cape Province in South Africa is described and illustrated.

The figures appearing on pp. 179 and 180 were erroneously numbered out of sequence. The figures on p. 179 currently numbered 18-23 should have been numbered 24-29 and reproduced on p. 180; those on p. 180 should have been numbered 18-23 and reproduced on p. 179. The caption on p. 179 therefore refers to the figures on p. 180 and vice versa

Leaf anatomy is described from 17 species ofPsoralea sensu strictowhich includes four species of the genusHalliaThunberg. Species of the two genera share many characters including the presence of rod-shaped crystals, similar stipule structure and a possible continuum in secretory cavity anatomy ranging from a small and non-trabeculate to a large an...