4 SPECIES OF PELARGONIUM, SECTION HOAREA (GERANIACEAE) AND THEIR POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIPS

A description and an illustration of each of the four species are give n. Pelargonium aestivale E.M. Marais is described as a new species, th e synonyms for P. fissifolium (Andr.) Pers. are given, the illegitimat e name P. pilosum Pers. is replaced by P. petroselinifolium G. Don, an d P. aristatum (Sweet) G. Don is reinstated as a species. All of them are tuberous species, belonging to section Hoarea (Sweet) DC. The four species have a similar chromosome number, and macromorphological, ana tomical and palynological studies were done to delimit the species and determine their relationships. Although the chromosome numbers of the four species distinguish them from the rest of the species in section Hoarea, and although they have several characters in common, these ch aracters are not unique within the section.