Merxmuellera cincta subsp. sericea (Poaceae), a new subspecies from the Eastern Cape, South Africa

A phenetic study based on floral characters from 59 herbarium specimens of Merxmuellera cincta (Nees) Conert reveals two taxa within this species. Merxmuellera cincta (Nees) Conert subsp. sericea N.P. Barker is named and described as new. This subspecies, found mostly in moist coastal dune slacks, can be distinguished on the basis of larger floral parts, lemmas with very long silky hairs, and an unusual leaf anatomy. The habitat and distribution of this new taxon is discussed, and a chromosome count of n = 18 is reported. This new taxon is allocated the IUCN category of Critically Endangered.