Vexatorella (lat.) Is a genus of flowering plants of the Protein family , which includes shrubs growing in dry finbosha on the outskirts of the ecological region of Succulent Karu. In total, there are 4 species in the genus. Endemic to the Cape region of South Africa. Inflorescences are similar to inflorescences of related leucospermums , but also have common features of levkadendrons , while perianth becomes woody and increases after pollination [3] . Flowers are pollinated by insects, seeds are scattered by ants [4] .
| Vexatorella |
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Vexatorella amoena |
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| Order : | Proteanae Takht. , 1967 |
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Vexatorella Rourke , 1984 [2] |
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Species Vexatorella are vertical or sprawling evergreen shrubs with alternate narrow shovel-shaped leaves with a hard tip, the edges of the sheet are grayish or bluish in color. Stem flower heads are usually separate, but can grow in a group of two to six at the end of the stem. Individual flowers are four-petalled star-shaped. The four perianth segments are pink or cream in color and have a sweetish smell. A straight column of pestle grows from the center of the flower, hairless or powdery. The stigma at the tip of the pestle is split at the tip. The ovary has the shape of an egg or a bottle, contains a single cavity with one ovule. The ovary is represented by four free awl-shaped scales. The fruit is an egg-shaped hairless or powder-coated seed with a hook at the end and a dull and wrinkled base. The sepals, which support individual flowers, after flowering acquire a woody character.
Comparison of homologous DNA showed that the genus Vexatorella belongs to the group (except for Leucospermum saxosum ), which includes exclusively genera endemic for the Cape region , which together make up the subtribe Leucadendrinae . Vexatorella is closest to the genus Paranomus . Sorocephalus and Spatalla is the sister group for Vexatorella and Paranomus . Related relationships between groups are shown below [5] :
| subtribe Leucadendrinae |
| Leucadendron |
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| Leucospermum |
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| Mimetes , Diastella , Orothamnus |
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| Serruria |
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The following species belong to the genus Vexatorella [6] [4] :
- Vexatorella alpina ( Salisb. Ex Knight ) Rourke
- Vexatorella amoena (Rourke) Rourke
- Vexatorella latebrosa rourke
- Vexatorella obtusata ( Thunb. ) Rourke
- Vexatorella obtusata subspecies obtusata
- Vexatorella obtusata subspecies albomontana
