{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Speciesbox |image = Stayneria neilii 15272840.jpg |image_caption = ''Stayneria neilii'' |display_parents = 3 |genus = Stayneria |parent_authority = L.Bolus |species = neilii |authority = (L.Bolus) L.Bolus |synonyms_ref = <ref name=Species>{{cite POWO |id=58099-1 |title=''Stayneria neilii'' (L.Bolus) L.Bolus |access-date=18 December 2021}}</ref> |synonyms = {{species list |Ruschia neilii |L.Bolus |Stayneria littlewoodii |L.Bolus }} }}
'''''Stayneria''''' (or 'white-flowered mesemb'<ref>{{cite web |title=White-flowered Mesemb (''Stayneria neilii'') |url=https://inaturalist.ca/taxa/594778-Stayneria-neilii |website=iNaturalist Canada |access-date=18 December 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=White-Flowered Mesemb (''Stayneria neilii'') - Plants {{!}} Candide Gardening |url=https://candide.com/GB/plants/50acb81e-09bf-4744-ba07-0710ef0a4a3d |website=Candide |access-date=18 December 2021}}</ref>) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Aizoaceae.<ref name="POWO">{{cite web |title=Stayneria L.Bolus {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1065-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |access-date=19 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref> It contains a single species, '''''Stayneria neilii'''''.<ref name="POWO" /> It is in the subfamily Ruschioideae and the tribe Ruschieae.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hartmann |first1=H. E. K. |title=Aizoaceae |date=January 2017 |pages=1177–1178}}</ref>
It is native to the Cape Provinces of the South African Republic.<ref name="POWO" /> It grows on acid, quartzitic sandstone soil among rocks with taller shrubby vegetation.<ref name=pza/>
==Conservation status== It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Data List due to habitat loss caused by the expansion of nearby vineyards.<ref name=pza/>
==Description== ''Stayneria neilii'' is a stout woody shrub of up to 1.5 m in height, bearing reddish brown stems with persistent hardened remains of old leaves. The stem-clasping leaves are dark green, three-sided with a sharp bottom edge and smell like berries. Fragrant leaves in the Aizoaceae family are uncommon and therefore this is an almost unique characteristic rarely found in other genera. Small daisy-like white to pink flowers are arranged in terminal groups of three to seven and borne during the winter and early spring (July to September in the southern hemisphere).<ref name=pza>{{Cite web|title=Stayneria neilii {{!}} PlantZAfrica|url=http://pza.sanbi.org/stayneria-neilii|access-date=2021-06-27|website=pza.sanbi.org}}</ref>
==Taxonomy== The genus name of ''Stayneria'' is in honour of Frank J. Stayner (1907–1981), a South African horticulturist and specialist in succulents. He was also the curator at the Karoo botanical garden.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stayneria {{!}} CasaBio |url=https://casabio.org/taxa/stayneria |website=casabio.org |access-date=18 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Burkhardt | first=Lotte | title=Verzeichnis eponymischer Pflanzennamen – Erweiterte Edition |trans-title=Index of Eponymic Plant Names – Extended Edition | publisher=Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin | year=2018 | isbn=978-3-946292-26-5 | url=https://doi.org/10.3372/epolist2018 |format=pdf |language=German |location=Berlin | doi=10.3372/epolist2018 |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> The Latin specific epithet of ''neilii'' refers to the 20th century South African dairy farmer and nurseryman Mr Neil.<ref name=pza/> The genus was first described and published in J. S. African Bot. Vol.27 on page 47 in 1960.<ref name="POWO"/> The species was published in J. S. African Bot. Vol.33 on page 306 in 1967.<ref name=Species/>
The genus is recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service, but they do not list any known species.<ref>{{cite web |title=Genus ''Stayneria'' L. Bolus |url=https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomygenus?id=11488 |website=npgsweb.ars-grin.gov |access-date=18 December 2021}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q644332|from2=Q17244148}}
Category:Aizoaceae Category:Aizoaceae genera Category:Plants described in 1845 Category:Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces Category:Taxa named by Louisa Bolus Category:Monotypic Caryophyllales genera