Eperua grandiflora ( Aublet 1775: 757 ) Baillon (1870: 110) subsp. grandiflora

Fortes, Elenice A. & Mansano, Vidal F., 2022, Untangling nomenclatural issues of some Amazonian trees of Eperua Aubl. (Leguminosae, Detarioideae, Detariae), Phytotaxa 542 (2), pp. 189-198 : 193

Eperua grandiflora ( Aublet 1775: 757) Baillon (1870: 110) subsp. grandiflora

≡ Parivoa grandiflora Aublet (1775: 757) .

Lectotype (designated by Cowan 1975): — FRENCH GUIANA. Without locality, s.d. [July 1762 – July 1764], J.B.C.F. Aublet s.n. (BM[000952282] image!, isolectotypes P[00835933] image!, P[00835934] image!).

≡ Dimorpha grandiflora (Aubl.) Forsyth (1794: 391) nom. illeg. superfl.

≡ Dimorpha grandiflora (Aubl.) Willdenow (1802: 971) , nom. illeg. superfl.

= Eperua kourouensis Benoist (1916: 273) .

Lectotype (designated here): — FRENCH GUIANA Gourdonville , Kourou R., 8 September 1914, R. Benoist 1595 (P[00835930] image!; isolectotypes, P[00835931] image!, P[00835932] image!).

Aublet (1775) described E. grandiflora in a different genus, Parivoa . Later, Bentham & Hooker (1865) combined P. grandiflora under Eperua , but this is not a valid combination according to ICN Art. 35.2 ( Turland et al. 2018). Bentham (1870) is considered the author of the combination in many taxonomic treatments, plant reference lists, and herbaria labels (e.g. Pulle 1906, Ducke 1940, Cowan 1975, Tropicos (2021), The Plant List, Flora do Brasil 2020). Indeed, Bentham (1870) associated the epithet grandiflora to Eperua in an observation in the comments about E. purpurea . However, earlier in the same year, Baillon (1870) had clearly associated the epithet grandiflora to the genus Eperua . Therefore, as already listed in IPNI, Baillon (1870) must be considered the author responsible for the combination because his work was published in January–February of 1870 while the Flora Brasiliensis of Bentham was published only in December of that year.

Since Aublet (1775) coined all genera and species based on his collections, we checked all herbaria cited in the taxonomic literature ( Stafleu & Cowan 1976) where it is possible to find Aublet’s collections, and we found one specimen of E. grandiflora at BM and two at P. The BM specimen has flowers and the P specimens are sterile. In the case of the latter, the collection locality, the 3-jugate straight leaflets, adaxially prominent main vein, conspicuous tertiary venation, and one intramarginal vein provide strong evidence that the specimen is E. grandiflora . Besides that, P00835933 specimen has a note handwritten by Aublet, “ Vouapa ouapa ”, a vernacular name for E. grandiflora cited by him in the original description. Cowan (1975) cited the BM specimen as the holotype and did not mention the P specimens. As we clearly recognize three Aublet’s collections of E. grandiflora , the BM specimen is a syntype, and here we correct Cowan’s use of holotype to lectotype. Lastly, Aublet’s description and collection clearly fits E. grandiflora , but his plate 303 shows a flower with exserted stamens in a short and erect inflorescence, thus indicating that this is neither E. grandiflora nor E. falcata , another species that he described in the same publication.