Syzygium rubicundum Wight & Arnott (1834: 330)

Byng, James W., Wilson, Peter G. & Snow, Neil, 2015, Typifications and nomenclatural notes on Indian Myrtaceae, Phytotaxa 217 (2), pp. 101-116 : 110

30. Syzygium rubicundum Wight & Arnott (1834: 330) .

= Eugenia rubicunda ( Wight & Arn.) Wight (1842: 3 , t. 538). Lectotype (designated here): Wight Catalogue Number 1072 (K! [barcode K000821354 ] specimen at lower right; isolectotype E!, K! [barcode K000821353 ]).

= Syzygium lissophyllum Thwaites (1859: 117) . = Eugenia lissophylla (Thwaites) Beddome (1872 : cviii). Type citation: “Hab. forests in the Central Province (Deltota), at an elevation of 3000 to 5000 feet.” Lectotype (designated by Kostermans 1981): Thwaites Ceylon Plants 2452 (PDA!; isolectotype MH, BM!).

Distribution:— India [Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu] and Sri Lanka; 400‒1300 m. Notes:—The sheet at Kew marked as Wight Catalogue Number 1072 appears to comprise more than one collection and, as a result, has two separate barcodes attached. Of the four specimens on the sheet, we have chosen the lower right hand element because it most closely resembles figure 538 published later by Wight (1842) in his Icones. Kostermans (1981: 143) effectively lectotypified Syzygium lissophyllum by designating Thwaites Ceylon Plants 2452 ( McNeill et al. 2012, article 9.9) in his treatment. Kostermans (1981) accepted Syzygium lissophyllum as a distinct species in contrast with earlier workers who had placed it in the synonymy of Syzygium rubicundum . This needs further investigation, but it is possible that Kostermans was in error because he did not see the type of the latter species and based his decision solely on Wight’s plate (1842: t. 538).