Isoetes toximontana, the Gifberg quillwort, is a plant species native to the Northern Cape and Western Cape regions of South Africa. It is known from only 3 sites.[1] The type locality is on the slopes of Gifberg, a mountain forming part of the eastern boundary of the Olifants River Valley. The name "Gifberg" means "poison mountain"; this is in reference to a poisonous tree called "gifboom", Euphorbia virosa, that is endemic to the area. The specific epithet "toximontana" is a Latin translation of the Afrikaans name of the mountain.[2]
| Gifberg quillwort | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Lycophytes |
| Class: | Lycopodiopsida |
| Order: | Isoetales |
| Family: | Isoetaceae |
| Genus: | Isoetes |
| Species: | I. toximontana
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| Binomial name | |
| Isoetes toximontana Musselman & J.P. Roux
| |
Isoetes toximontana is an herb which grows in shallow water, very often emerging above the surface. Leaves are 3-10 per plant, up to 42 mm long, elliptical in cross-section. Mega- and microsporophylls may be found on the same plant. Megaspores number up to 36 per sporangium, gray-green, drying olive green, each up to 320 μm in diameter, covered with tubercules (bumps) over most of the surface. Microspores are brown, up to 25 μm in diameter.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b Roux, J.P.; Raimondo, D. (2010). "Isoetes toximontana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T185367A8397474. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T185367A8397474.en. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ Gifberg
- ^ Musselman, Lytton John; Roux, J. P. (2002). "Isoetes toximontana (Isoetaceae), a New Quillwort with Green Megaspores from the Northern Cape of South Africa". Novon. 12 (4): 504–507. doi:10.2307/3393131. JSTOR 3393131 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
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