1 Cuad. Bot. Canar. XVIII-XIX: 15-16; 73 1
Gnidia polystachya found in the Canary lslands
By H. F. Roer (t) *)
(recibido en la redacción: 30.5.1973)
The south African Thymelaeaceae Gnidia polystachya
Bergius (Brown 1905 : tab. 8001, Thistleton-Dyer 1925 : p.
59j was founa on Tenerife 3í.3.iYbY. It grew naturaiized on
a small dry hill together with plants like Phagnalon saxatile
near Barrio Tosca de Ana Maria (between Sta. Ursula and
La Victoria de Acentejo) in the north-western part of the
island. This is in the upper extremity of the zone "Xerofilas
de la Znna inferior" of Cehallnr & Ort~iñn (1951, p. 110).
The plant is not known from the Canary Islands before.
In Madeira it is grown as a garden plant and is often natura-lizea
(Crabnam iY34, i942, Hansen i969, Cnristensen, Dai-gaard
& Hamann 1970).
Gnidia polystachya is very different from the other
thymelaeace on the Canary Islands, namely Daphne gnidia.
The former is a shrub with green flowers arranged in invo-lucrate
heads, termiilutirig Iutnrd hrumh!rts, which are ru-cemosely
arranged along the main branches. Herbarium
material from the Tenerife locality is kept in the Botanical
Museum, University of Oslo (O).
LITERATURE
HROWN; N. F.; 1905: Gnidia polystachya. Bol. Maga7in~ 131; t.8001. T.ondon.
CEBALLOS, L. & F. ORTUÑO, 1951. Vegetación y flora forestal de las Canarias
Occideniales. Madrid.
CHRISTENSEN, T. B., V. DALGAARD, & O. HAMAN'N, 1970. Oversigt over
Madeirns Florn. Kobenhavn.
GRABBAM, M., 1934. Plants seen in Madeira. London.
GKABHAM, M.. 1942. Madeira. Its flowering plants and ferns. London.
HANSEN, A., 1969. Weitere Beitrage zur Flora der Insel Madeira. Bocagiana 19.
'p. 1-19.
THLSTJl.ETON-DYER, W. T., 1925. Flora Capensis. Vol. 5, sect. 2. London.
* Botanical Garden, University of Orlo, Oslo 5.
Fig.
3 2
1. Gnidia polystacliya, reproduced from the plate 8001 in Curtis' Botanical
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