Erica grandiflora is a species of Erica found in fynbos on the mainland Western Cape, South Africa. E. grandiflora was described by Carl Linnaeus the Younger in 1782, and was reclassified as Erica abietina subsp. aurantiaca by Oliver & Oliver in 2002.[1] More recently, phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data have revealed that it is more closely related to mainland Western Cape species including Erica viscaria than it is to Cape Peninsula endemic Erica abietina subspecies, and should therefore be treated as a separate species.[2] It includes two subspecies which can be most easily distinguished on the basis of their distinctive flower colours.
Flowering specimen of E. grandiflora ssp. grandiflora, in the Western Cape, South Africa
Flowering specimen of E. grandiflora ssp. perfoliosa in the Jonkershoek Valley, Western Cape, South Africa
Erica grandiflora is a species of Erica found in fynbos on the mainland Western Cape, South Africa. E. grandiflora was described by Carl Linnaeus the Younger in 1782, and was reclassified as Erica abietina subsp. aurantiaca by Oliver & Oliver in 2002. More recently, phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data have revealed that it is more closely related to mainland Western Cape species including Erica viscaria than it is to Cape Peninsula endemic Erica abietina subspecies, and should therefore be treated as a separate species. It includes two subspecies which can be most easily distinguished on the basis of their distinctive flower colours.
