Studies in the Ericoideae ( Ericaceae ) . XU . The placing of the genus Blaeria into synonymy under Erica ’ , nomenclatural and taxonomic changes for the southern African region

The reduction of the genus Blaeria to synonymy under Erica requires the publication of six new combinations and three new names for the nine taxa occurring in southern Africa. Four species are reduced to synonymy. Diagnostic features and distribution maps are provided.


INTRODUCTION
In a forthcoming paper (Oliver in press A) the generic relationship between Blaeria L. and Erica L. will be discussed in detail.The former genus has been maintained separate from Erica since 1753 on the single character difference of four as opposed to eight stamens.
Problems arose with several species in both genera having a variable number of stamens or even numbers not included within the circumscription of their genera.Depending on the stamen complement found in the flowers examined, one could identify some material as either belonging to Blaeria or to Erica.Problem species in this respect are Erica filiformis Salisb., E. esterhuyseniae Compton and E. pleiotricha S. Moore in which 8-and 4-stamened flowers exist.In several other species the stamen number varies from 5 to 8.
With the sinking of the genus Philippia into Erica (Oliver 1987a(Oliver , 1988(Oliver , 1989) )  The species is confined to sandy level areas that are often wet in winter in the coastal region erf the southwestern Cape from Rooi Els in the west to Sondagskloof (Sandies Glen) near Napier in the east (Figure 1).In this region it may be found from just above the spray zone near the sea up to an altitude of 760 m on the nearby mountains.Common and widespread in mountains of southwestern Cape from Cape Peninsula to Bain's Kloof in north to western part of Bredasdorp District in south and occurs from sea level to summits of mountains at 1 600 m (Figure 2).Highly variable species in habit, flower size and shape, anther form and in having some collections with more than usual number of four stamens.
Basic type forms rounded low shrublet with deep pink, narrowly tubular flowers with four dark brown, exserted anthers.In some cases, mainly at lower altitudes, plants can be erect and reach 500 mm in height when growing in old fynbos.Flowers may be short with corolla 2.5 mm long and open campanulate to large with corolla 4 mm long and tubular.
Several species formerly recognised as distinct have been reduced to synonymy under E. equisetifolia on the grounds of overlap in characters caused by the variation found in the numerous collections of this complex.E. equisetifolia and Blaeria dumosa were distinguished on the single character of anther shape, the former having straight-sided anthers whereas the latter had anthers that were obtriangular in outline with a constriction above the decurrent appendages.The straight-sided collections come mostly from the Cape Peninsula and the other material from the inland mountains.There are collections from the main land which fit equally well in either of the two species.seen that the anther is the straight-sided form, most probably from the Cape Peninsula, and that there is only one small awn on one side.This material, in turn, was found to be morphologically inseparable from E. parvula which is confined to the Elgin/Betty's Bay area near the coast.This latter species also forms compact woody shrublets with white flowers.It grows mostly on rocks in streambeds.Apart from the more variable number of stamens and ovary locules the material of these two species is indistinguishable.There could, however, be some purpose in recognizing the high altitude form from Baviaanskloof as a subspecies.This will need some further investigations and assessment.

Blaeria flava was described by Bolus on the grounds of the yellow colour of the corolla. This would appear to be the only character showing any discontinuity in this
Several new species from the Kogelberg and Hermanus areas that are closely allied to this species are being described separately (Oliver 1993).One of these is re corded as producing a putative natural hybrid with E. equisetifolia.
An anomalous form with mostly opposite leaves was col lected by Stokoe somewhere in the Hottentots-Holland Mountains.Sometimes one can find an occasional 2-nate arrangement of leaves on a branchlet in E. equisetifolia, and in other species, such as the E. tenuifolia L./E. lutea Berg, complex, whole branchlets or even branches can have 2-nate leaves.This condition alone is not regarded as sufficiently distinct to warrant taxonomic recognition, especially as it is known only from a single small collec tion that cannot be relocated in the field.This species, the type of Linnaeus' genus Blaeria, is very common in dry rocky areas on flats or in the moun tains from the Cape Peninsula eastwards along the coast to just beyond Stanford (Figure 3).In some areas it forms dominant stands which are very evident due to the strong honeylike scent emitted by the flowers.(Brown 1905).With a revision o f the family in southern Africa currently in progress, many changes to the taxonomy and therefore nomenclature, will be necessary.For this reason a listing of all the excluded species is not published at this stage as new combinations would have to be created of which many would soon be redundant.

However
Blaeria contains approximately 16 species, all occurring in Africa.In the southern African region the nine species are confined to the Cape.They can be placed in several groups of related species, with each group showing more affinities to different sections within Erica This very distinct species was referred to as Blaeria barbigera based only on the assumption that the material fitted the description of Salisbury's Erica barbigem (1802), there being no extant type specimen.For further details see below under Insufficiently known species.The new name is an adaptation of the name by which this well-known species of the coastal regions of the Caledon District has been known for many years.
FIGURE 1.-The known distribution of Erica barbigeroides.
complex which has only pink or white flowers.The species is known only from the original collection from the Swartberg at Caledon where no pink-or white-flowered collections have been made.A thorough investigation of the Swartberg may produce more evidence for assigning this material some taxonomic status.The problem of the similarity between E. equisetifolia, Blaeria campanulata and E. parvula is mentioned (Oliver in press A) as a case for reducing Blaeria to synonymy under Erica.B. campanulata was based on material collected from rock ledges on the cool, southeast side of the top of the mountains of Baviaanskloof above Genadendal from where it is known through only a few collections.Plants are small and very compact, the white flowers have exserted dark stamens which range from 5 -8 per flower and mostly 3-locular ovaries (Oliver 8978 & 9081).A recent collec tion (Oliver 8813) with only 8-stamened flowers has been made on the lowest dry northern slopes near McGregor.