The genus was described by Jean Louis Marie Poiret and published in Encyclopédie Méthodique in 1808.
Most botanists feel that the two species are simply forms and should be lumped under one species, Virgilia oroboides.
That would mean that the current V. divaricata is simply a darker form limited to the forested region of Knysna, South Africa.
Virgilia oroboides had a number of synonyms, while both V. oroboides and V. divaricata had both been named V. capensis by different authors.
The genus was described by Jean Louis Marie Poiret and published in Encyclopédie Méthodique in 1808. Most botanists feel that the two species are simply forms and should be lumped under one species, Virgilia oroboides. That would mean that the current V. divaricata is simply a darker form limited to the forested region of Knysna, South Africa. Virgilia oroboides had a number of synonyms, while both V. oroboides and V. divaricata had both been named V. capensis by different authors.
Virgilia (plant)