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Eriospermum adpressifolium (Asparagaceae) and Emilia blittersdorffii (Asteraceae) — two new species from Tanzania with nearly identical leaves

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Summary

Two new species from southwest Tanzania are described, illustrated and their conservation status evaluated. Emila blittersdorffii Beentje and Eriospermum adpressifolium O. Weber are a striking example of convergent evolution with their leaves indistinguishable to the naked eye. Their vegetative habit has been observed in a number of other taxa.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Frank Mballa Mbago of DSM herbarium for help in processing specimens and forwarding them to Kew; Mike Lock for useful discussions and his previous article on the subject of the oligophyllous platyphyllous habit; and Juliet Beentje for the line drawings. Thanks are also due to the two anonymous reviewers for their input.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AB, UK

    Odile Weber & Henk Beentje

  2. Herbarium Senckenbergianum, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt/M., Germany

    Robert von Blittersdorff

Authors
  1. Odile Weber
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  2. Robert von Blittersdorff
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  3. Henk Beentje
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Correspondence to Odile Weber.

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Weber, O., von Blittersdorff, R. & Beentje, H. Eriospermum adpressifolium (Asparagaceae) and Emilia blittersdorffii (Asteraceae) — two new species from Tanzania with nearly identical leaves. Kew Bull 70, 28 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-015-9576-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-015-9576-7

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