Croton trichotomus Geiseler, Croton. Monogr.: 50. 1807

Berry, Paul E., Kainulainen, Kent & Ee, Benjamin W. van, 2017, A Nomenclator of Croton (Euphorbiaceae) in Madagascar, the Comoros Archipelago, and the Mascarene Islands, PhytoKeys 90, pp. 1-87 : 60-61

120. Croton trichotomus Geiseler, Croton. Monogr.: 50. 1807

Croton pulchellus Baill., Adansonia 1: 161. 1861, as ' pulchellum '. Type. Madagascar. sin. loc., s.d., J. Martin s.n. (holotype: G [G00446399]!; isotype: P [P00133530]!).

Oxydectes pulchella (Baill.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 612. 1891. Type. Based on Croton pulchellus Baill.

Oxydectes trichotoma (Geiseler) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 613. 1891. Type. Based on Croton trichotomus Geiseler

Croton trichotomus var. pulchellus (Baill.) Leandri, Ann. Mus. Colon. Marseille, sér. 5, 7(1): 50. 1939. Type. Based on Croton pulchellus Baill.

Croton remotiflorus Radcl.-Sm., Gen. Croton Madag. Comoro 48. 2016, syn. nov. Type. Madagascar. Prov. Toliara: Réserve Intégrale # 11, Andohahela, vicinity of Eminiminy, 24°40'S, 46°48'E, 4-24 May 1993, B. Randriamampionona 385 (holotype: K!; isotypes: DAV!, G [G00414974]!, MICH!, MO!).

Croton antanosiensis var. ambohibyi Leandri ex Radcl.-Sm., Gen. Croton Madag. Comoro 42. 2016, syn. nov. Type. Madagascar. Prov. Antananarivo: Mont Ambohiby, SE de Tsiroanomandidy, 1600 m, 11-16 Nov 1952, J. Leandri, R. Capuron & A. Razafindrakoto 1775 (lectotype, designated here: P [P00154305]!; isolectotypes: P [P00154302]!, P [P00154303]!, P [P00154304]!).

Croton isomonensis var. microcarpus Radcl.-Sm., Gen. Croton Madag. Comoro 50. 2016, syn. nov. Type. Madagascar. Prov. Fianarantsoa: Antambohobe Canton, Ivohibe Distr., 6 Mar 1962, Réserves Naturelles 12150-Rn (holotype: P [P00154428]!).

Type.

Madagascar. " Madagascar f. maut., No 38 " (lectotype, designated here: P-LA [P00382065]!).

Habit and distribution.

Shrubs; mainly an eastern coastal species of Madagascar in Toamasina and Toliara Provinces, as far south as the Fort Dauphin area, but also recorded from Antananarivo and Fianarantsoa Provinces in upland forests (as C. antanosiensis var. ambohibyi and C. isomonensis var. microcarpus ).

Notes.

In the protologue of Croton trichotomus , Geiseler (1807) listed two different elements, C. trichotomus from Madagascar and C. punctatus from the Caribbean. We choose here as lectotype the collection in P-LA that Leandri (1939) attributes to P. Commerson. There is no sheet in P-JU that matches the plant of C. trichotomus on the P-LA sheet, but P-JU Catal. 16347 is a mixed collection that bears a label on the left-hand specimen [P00674048] that states, possibly in Geiseler's hand, [ Croton ] " punctatum Jacq." followed below by "trichotomum Geiseler, Crot. Monogr." However, this is a completely different plant from the one represented on the P-LA sheet, instead belonging to the Caribbean C. flavens L.

In our view, Croton trichotomus is primarily a littoral species of the eastern coast, but it also occurs in a number of more inland and higher elevation situations, which is an exception among Malagasy Croton species.

For Croton antanosiensis var. ambohibyi , Radcliffe-Smith (2016) designated Leandri et al. 1775 at P as the holotype, but since there are four sheets of this number at P, we select one of them as lectotype.