New taxa in Moraea subgenera Moraea and Vieusseuxia (Iridaceae: Irideae) from Western Cape, South Africa

Research highlights
• One new species of Moraea is described and illustrated.
• Three new subspecies of Moraea are described.
• Moraea helicoidea is a local endemic from Worcester in Western Cape.
• Moraea tricuspidata subsp. parviflora but has smaller flowers.
• Moraea tricuspidata subsp. cormifera has an
• axillary cormlet.
• Northern populations of Moraea papilionacea are treated as subsp. glabrescens.

We describe one new species and three new subspecies of the African and western Eurasian genus Moraea (Iridaceae) from Western Cape. Moraea helicoidea (subg. Vieusseuxia) from Worcester is known from a single small population on Dwyka Tillite overlying sandstones of the Witteberg Group of the Cape System. The long-lasting flowers have reduced inner tepals with short, obscurely trilobed limbs that place it in subg. Vieusseuxia, where it stands out in having two foliage leaves. Other species in the subgenus, except for Moraea fergusoniae, all have a solitary foliage leaf and we infer that M. helicoidea is most closely related to that species. In Moraea tricuspidata (subg. Vieusseuxia), we recognize two new subspecies: subsp. parviflora from the northern end of its range (Cedarberg, Cold Bokkeveld and Piketberg) and subsp. cormifera from the eastern end of its range (Kammanassie and Langkloof). Subspecies parviflora is distinguished by its smaller flowers with shorter and narrower tepals and is often a taller plant, up to 1.2 m, with up to four branches at each of three or four aerial nodes. Subspecies cormifera has flowers similar to those of subsp. tricuspidata in size but shorter, fully united filaments, and a prominent corm in the axil of the foliage leaf. It is in addition polyploid. We also recognize the Cedarberg and Cold Bokkeveld populations of the southwestern Cape Moraea papilionacea as the new subsp. glabrescens, distinguished from typical plants by its subglabrous foliage, smaller and exclusively yellow flowers, and smaller inflorescence spathes. In addition, we report modest range extensions for Moraea fistulosa (subg. Polyanthes) and Moraea intermedia (subg. Umbellatae), known until now only from their type localities.