Hypericum gnidiifolium (Nomenclature)
Shrub (?) or tree to 4-5 m tall, much branched, with branches ascending. Stems yellow-brown when young, soon 2-lined to terete; internodes 6-10 mm long, shorter than leaves; bark reddish-brown.Leaves sessile; lamina 17-28 x 4-10 mm, narrowly elliptic to oblong-elliptic, acute to subapiculate, margin plane, subincrassate, base cuneate, not or scarcely auriculate, paler beneath, not glaucous, chartaceous, lower ones gradually deciduous; venation: 3-5(7) basal or lower lateral veins (i.e. midrib + 1-2(3) pairs), the laterals and midrib branches forming rather dense tertiary reticulum, with secondaries reduced to short streaks in areolae; laminar glands in secondary venous system, short streaks, without alternating series of dots; marginal glands pale and dark, dense. Inflorescence (l)3-5-flowered, from 1-2 nodes, without lateral flowering branches; pedicels 6-15 mm long; bracts foliar or intermediate. Flowers c. 35 mm in diam., stellate; buds ovoid, obtuse. Sepals 6-7 x 3.5-5 mm, imbricate, subequal, broadly elliptic or ovate-elliptic to oblong, acute to obtuse, margin entire to glandular-ciliolate, midrib undifferentiated; laminar glands linear, numerous, submarginal glands dark or absent; marginal glands absent or reddish. Petals golden yellow, tinged red, persistent, spreading to reflexed, 16-20(-25) x 8-9 mm, 2.5-3 x sepals, obovate-oblanceolate, with apiculus almost absent, rounded; margin internally dark-glandular-ciliate; laminar glands linear, not interrupted. Stamen fascicles 'subpersistent', each with c. 20 stamens, longest 8-14 mm long, 0.5-0.65 x petals, with filaments united for c. 0-5 mm. Ovary 5-6 x 3-5.4 mm, broadly ovoid; styles 11-13 mm long, c. 2.2 x ovary, c. 0.7 coherent; stigmas small, rounded. Capsule 7-8 x 6 mm, broadly ovoid-pyramidal. Seeds unknown.
2n = ?
Banks of streams: 2700-2900 m.
Ethiopia (Tigray, Shoa).
Like H. roeperianum, H. gnidiifolium has leaves with densely reticulate venation and a 1-several-flowered inflorescence, and occurs within the same area in Ethiopia. As the leaves and flowers are relatively small, it thus appears at first glance to be a reduced form of H. roeperianum. Nevertheless, it has some characters that seem to be more primitive (elongate laminar leaf-glands, mixed pale and dark marginal leaf-glands, marginal sepal-glands absent or reddish, styles only partially united), all of which suggest that H. gnidiifolium is specifically distinct from H. roeperianum. I have seen no recent collections of this species.
Moggi & Pisacchi (1967) point out that, of the five Q.-Dillon & Petit specimens of Hypericum gnidiifolium A. Rich. in Paris (P), three are labelled 'Ouadgerate' or 'Ouedgerate'. Of these, they selected that cited (Ethiopia, Tigray 'Ouadgerate, altit. 8500 and 9500 pedum ad rivulos,' Quartin-Dillon & Petit s.n. (P, lectotype; K!)) as lectotype.