Commelina erecta von Linné (1753: 41)

Hassemer, Gustavo, 2020, Further cleaning of the name pool in the New World Commelina (Commelinaceae), and notes on the African C. aquatica, Phytotaxa 435 (2), pp. 101-132 : 109

1.5. Commelina erecta von Linné (1753: 41) , nom. cons. prop.

– Commelina erecta var. typica Fernald (1940: 438–439) , nom. inval. (Art. 24.3 of the ICN)

Type: —Herb. Dillenius No. 63 (Dill HE_77-88) (typ. cons. prop. [proposed by Hassemer et al. 2018: 810] OXF! [ Figure 5 in Hassemer 2019]).

= Commelina bahiensis Link (1820: 73)

≡ Commelina elegans var. glabriuscula Seubert (1855: 263) (syn. nov.), nom. nov. pro Commelina bahiensis Link

Type: — BRAZIL. [Bahia]: S.d., Anonymous s.n. (lectotype [designated by Hassemer 2018a: 28] B barcode BW01050010! [ Figure 5 in Hassemer 2018a]).

= Commelina erecta f. intercursa Fernald (1940: 439 , t. 629[2–3])

Type: — UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Virginia: Prince George County, sandy thicket by James River, Jordan Point , 23 July 1938, M. L. Fernald & B. Long 8643 (lectotype [designated here] GH-00029550! [ Figure 6 ]; isolectotype GH-00029551!) .

= Commelina virginica var. massonii Clarke (1881: 183)

Type: — SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS. Saint Christopher Island, s.d., Masson s.n. (lectotype [designated here] BM-013399191! [ Figure 7 ]).

Notes: —The protologue of C. elegans var. glabriuscula ( Seubert 1855: 263) cited C. bahiensis as a synonym; therefore, the type of the former name is the same as that of the latter, which was lectotypified in Hassemer (2018a: 28). The name C. elegans var. glabriuscula is here newly cited as a homotypic synonym of C. bahiensis and as a heterotypic synonym of C. erecta .

The protologue of C. erecta f. intercursa ( Fernald 1940: 439) provided the following information on the type: “ VIRGINIA: sandy thicket by James River, Jordan Point, Prince George County, July 23, 1938, Fernald & Long, nos. 8642, 8643 ( TYPE in Herb. Gray, ISOTYPE in Herb. Phil. Acad.)”. I was able to locate two syntypes, GH-00029550 and GH-00029551, both belonging to the gathering M. L. Fernald & B. Long 8643. I designate here the better and most complete syntype, GH-00029550 ( Figure 6 ), as lectotype.

The protologue of C. virginica var. massonii ( Clarke 1881: 183) provided the following information on provenance and gatherings: “ India Occidentalis; Ins. Sancti Christopheri (Ch. Masson). Uruguay; prope Concepcion (Lorentz n. 603 partim)”. Because the specific epithet “ massonii ” commemorates the collector Masson (probably Francis Masson), and also because Charles Baron Clarke stated that only part of the gathering P. G. Lorentz 603 was to be referred to this taxon, I preferred to select a lectotype among the original specimens collected by Masson. I was able to locate only one original specimen collected by Masson (BM-013399191— Figure 7 ), which I designate here as lectotype. I should remark that the syntype P. G. Lorentz 603 (BM-013399196) belongs not to C. erecta but instead to C. dielsii Herter (1940: 149, fig. 11) (see Hassemer 2018a).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Lectotype of Nephralles parviflora (Anonymous s.n., P-00752548). Copyright: Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle. Available online at: https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/p00752548

FIGURE 6. Lectotype of Commelina erecta f. intercursa (M.L. Fernald & B. Long 8643, GH-00029550). Copyright: Gray Herbarium of Harvard University.Available online at: https://kiki.huh.harvard.edu/databases/specimen_search.php?mode=details&id=125314

FIGURE 7. Lectotype of Commelina virginica var. massonii (Masson s.n., BM-013399191). Copyright: Natural History Museum (London).Available online at: https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/bf78c50d-927b-461b-99ab-e844ddb44c36/1567036800000