Kalanchoe deliae (K. [subg. Kalanchoe] sect. Raveta; Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae), a new species from the Barberton Centre of Endemism in northeastern southern Africa

Abstract

A new species, Kalanchoe deliae (Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae), is described from northeastern South Africa. As far as is known, this new species is restricted to central-east Mpumalanga, one of the eastern-most provinces of the country. Kalanchoe deliae fits in K. sect. Raveta, a cluster of species with small to medium-sized to very large, paddle- to soup plate-sized leaves, and dense, elongated, usually club-shaped inflorescences. Kalanchoe deliae can be easily distinguished from K. luciae, the best-known representative of K. sect. Raveta and with which it occurs sympatrically, by a combination of vegetative (smaller overall stature and smaller leaves; lack of often intensely red-infused leaves) and reproductive (sepal shape and length; corolla lobe colour, shape, and orientation; pistil shape; and size and shape of the nectar scales) morphological characters.