Hooveria, a new genus liberated from Chlorogalum

Chlorogalum as treated traditionally is a genus of 8 taxa endemic to the California Floristic province, extending in the north from its northern limit near Myrtle Creek, Josephine County, Oregon southward to far northern Baja California.   Four of the 8 taxa are rare

              

The genus clearly consists of two distinct elements: three pale to deep purple flowered, diurnal taxa

n = 30    Chlorogalum purpureum Brandegee var. purpureum

n = ???   Chlorogalum purpureum var. reductum Hoover

n = 30    Chlorogalum parviflorum S. Watson

and 5 white flowered, verpertine taxa

n = 17       Chlorogalum angustifolium Kellogg

n = ??       Chlorogalum grandiflorum Hoover

n = 18      Chlorogalum pomeridianum (DC) Kunth var. divaricatum (Lindley) Hoover

n = 18      Chlorogalum pomeridianum var. minus Hoover

n = 15, 17 Chlorogalum pomeridianum var. pomeridianum

In 1940, Hoover (1) did not know of the tetrapolid nature of the two n=30 species, C. parvifolium and C. purpureum; he did remark on the floral differences.  Cave (2) then documented chromosome numbers in the genus, postulating they represented a distinct clade and noted their karyotpyic links with Hastingsia alba.   Now, Halpin (3) has shown that the diurnal-flowered plants are not monophylletic within Chlorogalum.  

In my estimation, Chlorogalum purpureum and C. parviflorum ought to be segregated within a new genus.  The name Hooveria is available for these plants, and would be a fitting tribute for Robert Francis Hoover, one of California’s most able field botanists.

1.  Hoover, RF 1940  Madrono 5:137-147

2.  Cave, MS 1970 Univ. Calif. Pubs. Bot. 57:1-51

3.  Halpin, KM. 2011.  Thesis, Oklahoma State Univ. 103 pp.