Phytogeography of Pelargonium

The vast majority of the approximately 2(H) species of Pelargonium oeeurs in Africa. About SO per cent of the species are endemic to the winter rainfall region of the Cape Province, and the centre of distribution lies in the south-western Cape. The distribution of the individual sections are discu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: J. J. A. van der Walt, P. J. Vorster
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: South African National Biodiversity Institut 1983-11-01
Series:Bothalia: African Biodiversity & Conservation
Online Access:https://abcjournal.org/index.php/abc/article/view/1202
Description
Summary:The vast majority of the approximately 2(H) species of Pelargonium oeeurs in Africa. About SO per cent of the species are endemic to the winter rainfall region of the Cape Province, and the centre of distribution lies in the south-western Cape. The distribution of the individual sections are discussed with the aid of distribution maps. The centre of distribution of most sections is in the south-western Cape, hut a few sections are centred in the eastern and western Cape. Several sections are represented by a few species in the summer rainfall region of southern Africa. As no fossils of Pelargonium are known, deductions about the origin of the genus can only be based on the present distribution of species, according to which arguments in favour of both a northern and a southern origin can he supported.
ISSN:0006-8241
2311-9284