ISI 2026-26. Perrierastrum oreophilum Guillaumin.
Here is another monotypic genus that has been synonymized into oblivion, should one choose to accept the new order. Based on recent DNA analysis of three regions of the plastid genome, Paton et al. (Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society, Vol. 188 (4): 355-376 (2018)) have found several formerly monotypic genera to belong to a single clade. However, Perrierastrum is distinctive and easily recognized among these with its pinnately divided, fleshy leaves that have earned it the common name of Madagascar mountain fern shrub. I'm not sure that name is any more convenient than the botanical name. In any case, the authors consider this species to now be one of six species, endemic to Madagascar, placed in the genus Capitanopsis, first published in 1916 for C. cloiselii S. Moore. Also distinctive are the inflorescences which contrast with the pinnately divided foliar leaves in having leafy, green but simple, ovate inflorescence bracts. The white flowers are zygomorphic and fairly typical of the Plectranthinae tribe of the Lamiaceae or mint family. Unlike many mints, the stems are not square in cross section. Nor is the foliage particularly aromatic. The plant will, indeed, grow into a somewhat gangly shrub about a meter tall and wide. A little pinching of the meristems will help keep it more compact. Until now, there was only one clone in cultivation, a plant collected October 23, 1995, by John Lavranos (30014), 15 km W of Ambalavao Madagascar, where it grew atop a granite dome. The generic name Perrierastrum would, at first glance, seem to commemorate Perrier de la Bâthie (1873 -1958), French botanist who lived and worked in Madagascar from 1896-1933. However, in this case it is derived from the Simaroubaceous genus Perriera, a tree from the wetter tropics of Madagascar, plus the diminutive suffix -astrum. The genus Perriera also commemorates Perrier de la Bâthie, incidentally. The epithet oreophilum refers to the plant's montane habitat (oreo = mountain, philum = loving). We offer rooted cuts of HBG 148327 (not 82734 as published in the C&SJ — that is the Lavranos collection), propagated by Joe Stead of Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA. This is now a second clone in cultivation. It was originally collected by Tom McCoy April 24, 2003, at the same locality as cited above for the Lavranos collection and grew in association with Aloe deltoideodonta var. fallax J.-B.Castillon.
Photo © 2026 by John Trager.
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