Table 1. Comparison of Sonerila erectifolia Phonep., Soulad. & Tagane sp. nov. and S. violifolia Hook. f. ex Triana. 1 = from Renner et al. 2001.
Characters Sonerila erectifolia Sonerila violifolia 1
Habit acaulescent herb or with rhizomatous stem, 10–14(–20) cm tall including inflorescences somewhat succulent rhizomatous herb or with stem, 10–18 cm tall
Rhizome cylindrical, 2–3 cm long and 5–10 mm in diam, with long blonde hairs succulent
Stem ca 1 cm long, with long blonde hairs; internodes almost absent 10–18 cm tall, cover with conspicuous 4–6 mm long; internodes up to 4 cm long; reddish brown setae, especially at the nodes
Petiole 6–10 cm long, light green to reddish green, sparsely covered with long pale green hairs 1–7 cm long, glabrous
Lamina (ordinary leaves) elliptic-oblong, ovate-elliptic, 4–6 × 2–2.5 cm ovate or elliptic-ovate, 3–8(–11) × 1.5–4(–7) cm
Number of lateral primary veins 2 pairs 2–3 pairs
Peduncle length 10–15 cm long 2–9 cm long
Pedicel length 6–12 mm long 2–3 mm long
Number of flowers per inflorescence 5–12(–18) flowers 1–9 flowers
Hypanthium cylindrical, 8–9 × 2 mm campanulate, 5–6 × ca 2 mm
Petal elliptic-obtuse, 9–11 × 5–6 mm oblong or ovate, acuminate, 8–10 mm long