Aylostera steinmannii (Solms) Backeb.
A steinmannii is a species which covers a vast area of many thousands of square kilometres, albeit always at high altitude, above 3000m, and over that range varies considerably in shape, spination, colour, and flower colour. The different forms grade into each other so it is often difficult or impossible to define particular forms. Within this “superspecies” various other species have in the past been described; which of these you accept depends on whether you are a “lumper” or a “splitter”. This is a group of plants for which the “species” concept does not fit very well.
Mosti & Papini (2011) have regarded A. steinmannii to be distinct enough from A. applanata, A. brachyantha, A. camargoensis, A. christinae, A. cincinnata, A. leucanthema, A. major, A. melanocentra, A. parvula, A. tuberculata, to be each given specific status, all of which are often lumped in with A. steinmannii.
The original description is here.
Plants of this species which we have in the collection include:
Aylostera steinmannii GV23a
Aylostera steinmannii FR1109
Aylostera steinmannii FR1116
Aylostera steinmannii J158
Aylostera steinmannii KK1695
Aylostera steinmannii LH640
Aylostera steinmannii LH740
Aylostera steinmannii LH939
Aylostera steinmannii RH202b
Aylostera steinmannii RH294
Aylostera steinmannii var. costata RH314
Aylostera steinmannii RH349
Aylostera steinmannii RH1076
Aylostera steinmannii RH1123
Aylostera steinmannii RH2501a
Aylostera steinmannii VJ3b
Aylostera steinmannii VJ9b
Aylostera steinmannii VJ11
Aylostera steinmannii VJ11a
Aylostera steinmannii VJ19
Aylostera steinmannii WK824
Aylostera steinmannii WR508b
Aylostera steinmannii WR71