Stayneria Explained

Stayneria (or 'white-flowered mesemb'[1] [2]) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Aizoaceae.[3] It contains a single species, Stayneria neilii. It is in the subfamily Ruschioideae and the tribe Ruschieae.[4]

It is native to the Cape Provinces of the South African Republic. It grows on acid, quartzitic sandstone soil among rocks with taller shrubby vegetation.

Conservation status

It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Data List due to habitat loss caused by the expansion of nearby vineyards.

Description

Stayneria neilii is a stout woody shrub of up to 1.5 m in height, bearing reddish brown stems with persistent hardened remains of old leaves. The stem-clasping leaves are dark green, three-sided with a sharp bottom edge and smell like berries. Fragrant leaves in the Aizoaceae family are uncommon and therefore this is an almost unique characteristic rarely found in other genera. Small daisy-like white to pink flowers are arranged in terminal groups of three to seven and borne during the winter and early spring (July to September in the southern hemisphere).[5]

Taxonomy

The genus name of Stayneria is in honour of Frank J. Stayner (1907–1981), a South African horticulturist and specialist in succulents. He was also the curator at the Karoo botanical garden.[6] [7] The Latin specific epithet of neilii refers to the 20th century South African dairy farmer and nurseryman Mr Neil.[5] The genus was first described and published in J. S. African Bot. Vol.27 on page 47 in 1960.[3] The species was published in J. S. African Bot. Vol.33 on page 306 in 1967.

The genus is recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service, but they do not list any known species.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: White-flowered Mesemb (Stayneria neilii) . iNaturalist Canada . 18 December 2021 . en.
  2. Web site: White-Flowered Mesemb (Stayneria neilii) - Plants Candide Gardening . Candide . 18 December 2021.
  3. Web site: Stayneria L.Bolus Plants of the World Online Kew Science . Plants of the World Online . 19 May 2021 . en.
  4. Book: Hartmann . H. E. K. . Aizoaceae . January 2017 . 1177–1178.
  5. Web site: Stayneria neilii PlantZAfrica. 2021-06-27. pza.sanbi.org.
  6. Web site: Stayneria CasaBio . casabio.org . 18 December 2021.
  7. Book: Burkhardt, Lotte . Verzeichnis eponymischer Pflanzennamen – Erweiterte Edition . Index of Eponymic Plant Names – Extended Edition . Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin . 2018 . 978-3-946292-26-5 . pdf . German . Berlin . 10.3372/epolist2018 . 1 January 2021.
  8. Web site: Genus Stayneria L. Bolus . npgsweb.ars-grin.gov . 18 December 2021.