STUDIES IN CYPERACEAE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA .29. COSTULARIA NATALENSIS, AN ENDANGERED SPECIES

Costularia natalensis is a poorly known subSaharan African endemic tha t should be regarded as endangered. Populations are restricted to high land massifs from Malawi southwards to South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal); s mall in extent, and widely scattered, they show no obvious evidence of regeneration. Generic relationships of the species are uncertain. A c omprehensive description is given, supplemented by notes on morphologi cal variability, fruit dispersal and ecological preferences, and distr ibution.