Gymnosporia wallichiana (Sprengel) M.A. Lawson (1875: 621)

Bhat, Abhishek T., Prabhukumar, Konickal Mambetta & Rana, Tikam Singh, 2024, Lectotypification of four names in the genus Gymnosporia (Celastraceae), Phytotaxa 645 (3), pp. 286-293 : 288-292

Gymnosporia wallichiana (Sprengel) M.A. Lawson (1875: 621)

≡ Celastrus wallichianus Sprengel (1828: 150)

≡ Maytenus wallichiana (Sprengel) D.C.S. Raju & Babu (1969: 349)

Lectotype (designated here):— INDIA, Madras Presidency, Travancore , Wallich Cat. no. 4304D ( K, K001038668 ); isolectotype: [ K, K000669816 ].

Notes: Celastrus rigida [ rigidus ] Wallich (in Roxburgh 1824: 396), was a later homonym of C. rigidus Thunberg (1818: 124) . Sprengel (1828), thus provided a replacement name to the former as C. wallichianus Sprengel. The plant was introduced into the Honorary Company’s botanic garden by Dr. A. Berry in 1811 and was brought from Travancore. Along with this, Wallich also mentions seeing a specimen at Heyne’s Herbarium determined up to the genus level. However, it’s quite evident from the Wallich Catalogue [page. 60] that he received the specimens from peninsular India including Heyne’s collection in the year 1829. This means when Wallich described Celastrus rigidus he would not have had the Heyne’s specimen with him [pers. comm. Dr. Mark Watson, RBGE, UK]. Hence, the HBC [Hortus Botanicus Calcuttensis] specimens could be the original material for typification.

We were able to locate original material of Gymnosporia wallichiana in K (K000669816 & K001038668). Both are regarded here as syntypes. The specimen K000669816 is just a fragment with few leaves and flowers along with two other gatherings [4304B and 4304C]. Another sheet (K001038668) contains three well-preserved flowering twigs from HBC gathering and is selected here as lectotype.