Senegalia montis-salinarum N. Hahn 2016, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Hahn, Norbert
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Fabales
Fabaceae
Senegalia
Senegalia montis-Salinarum

description: Senegalia montis-salinarum N. Hahn sp. nov. (Fig. 1, 2A & 2B).   
 Type:— SOUTH AFRICA. Limpopo Province: Soutpansberg, farm Tanga, 22°49’36.7” S, 29°55’10.8” E, 770 m, 27 March 1992, N. Hahn 351 (holotype PRU!; isotype ZPB!).   
 Senegalia montis-salinarum is most similar to S. burkei in general morphology. Senegalia montis-salinarum is a multi-stemmed tree growing on mountain scree slopes whereas S. burkei is a single-stemmed savannah tree. Senegalia montis-salinarum has on average 7.3–10.0 leaflet pairs per pinna, pinna 6.0–7.6 × 1.7–2.2 mm in size opposed to those of S. burkei with 4.1–6.3 leaflet pairs per pinna, pinna 7.3–10.7 × 3.0– 4.7 mm in size. The inflorescence spike length of S. montis-salinarum is on average 28.9–35.7 mm long opposed to that of S. burkei that is longer, 49.6–66.3 mm. In fruit Senegalia montis-salinarum has on average 3.7–8.3 seeds per pod whereas S. burkei has only 2.6–4.7. (Fig. 3 & Table 1)   
 Root-bark yellow brown fissured. Bark along base of trunk roughly longitudinally fissured dark grey, underside grey to brown, becoming longitudinally fissured and dark grey to grey higher up the trunk with the underside light brown. Main branches bark greenish grey to grey, smooth, often with persistent scattered prickles. Stem bark light brown with lenticels, finely latitudinal fissured, underside grey. Young branches glabrous to sparingly hairy. Wood soft quickly devoured by insect. Stipules not spinescent, up to 2.5 mm long, deciduous. Prickles in pairs below the nodes, thorns recurved, horn brown, occasionally light yellow brown at the apex, up to 9 mm long. Leaves 1–2 clumped above the thorns, petiole (8.1–)12.2–21.0(–22.3) mm long, with a gland 1/3–1/2 up the petiole; rachis (17.6–)22.5– 38.0(–42.1) mm long, sparingly hairy, lime green in colour, gland at the junction of the top 1–3 pinna pairs. Pinna (3.0–)4.4–6.1(–6.0) pairs per leaflet, (18.2–)19.7–26.1(–27.2) mm long, sparingly hairy, lime green in colour. Leaflets (6.0–)7.3–10.0(–11.0) pairs per pinna, (1.4–)1.7–2.2(–2.4) × (5.0–)6.0–7.6(–7.7) mm, linear to linear-oblong, base asymmetric, apex light green above grey green below, with 1–3 veins from the base, secondary and tertiary venation not visibly in fresh material, margins entire fringed lime green. Inflorescence spicate, produced with the leaves; spike (28.7–)28.9–35.7(–36.9) mm, white yellow; peduncles 5.8–11.6 mm long. Flowers sessile; calyx pubescent, lime green tinged reddish, tube (0.90–)1.23 × 1.65(–1.67) mm long, lobes (0.76–)0.82 × 1.14(–1.30) mm long; corolla lime green, tube (1.62–)1.64–2.22(–2.33) mm long, shorter than calyx, lobes (0.95–)0.98–1.55(–1.74) mm long; stamen filament free (4.60–)4.85–5.45(–5.50) mm long; anthers 0.14–0.15 mm across; ovary (0.97–)1.06–1.32(–1.43) × (0.29–)0.31–0.39(–0.40) mm glabrous; stipe 0.48–0.64 mm long. Pods reddish brown, (43.0–)69.6–140.6(–154.0) × (10.3–)12.9–19.1(–21.0) mm, (2–)7–8(–10.0) seeded, straight, linear, dehiscent, coriaceous, base acuminate to mucronate. Seeds brown to olive green, (8.6–)9.5–10.9(–11.6) × (7.5–)8.0–9.5(–10.0) mm, sub-circular, central areole (3.5–)4.2–5.3(–5.8) × (2.9–)3.8–4.7(–4.9) mm.   
 Distribution and habitat: — Senegalia montis-salinarum is known from only two localities growing on rocky scree along the dry northern slopes of the Soutpansberg mountain (Fig 4).
description: Published as part of Hahn, Norbert, 2016, Senegalia montis-salinarum, a new species of Fabaceae: Mimosoideae endemic to the Soutpansberg, South Africa, pp. 174-180 in Phytotaxa 244 (2) on pages 175-176, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.244.2.5, http://zenodo.org/record/13681305