Redefining the megagenus Erica L. (Ericaceae): the contributions of E. G. H. Oliver and I. M. Oliver (nee Nitzsche) to taxonomy and nomenclature.

ABSTRACT: The megagenus Erica L. (Ericaceae), as it is recognised today, includes 851 species of evergreen shrubs or small trees, the majority of which are endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. From the first descriptions in Linnaeus's Genera plantarum, a succession of authors ascribed the steadily accumulating numbers of known species to various of a total of 72 different genera. Until the latter half of the twentieth century, so called 'minor genera' such as Philippia Klotzsch and Blaeria L. were still recognised for many African species. The now uncontroversial inclusive circumscription of Erica, and a substantial proportion of its currently recognised species diversity, was conceptualised, described, and illustrated by the South African botanist

SUBMITTER: Nelson EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11245645 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature