Commelina bravoa Matuda (1955a: 61–62)

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 : 102-104

1.2. Commelina bravoa Matuda (1955a: 61–62)

Type: — MEXICO. Veracruz state: Orizaba, Sierra de la Cruz, 1853, F. Müller s.n. (lectotype [designated here] NY-03946618! [ Figure 1 ]).

Notes: —The protologue of C. bravoa ( Matuda 1955a: 61–62) provided the following information on type specimens: “ Puebla: Ajemjibre, en bosque alto húmedo, sombreado, noviembre 15 de 1954, Dra. Helia Bravo H. sin número. Tipo en el Herbario Nacional del Instituto de Biología de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México ”, “ Veracruz: Orizaba, en Sierra de la Cruz, en el año de 1853, Muller, sin número” and “El último ejemplar citado arriba se encuentra en el Herbario de New York Botanical Garden, registrado como Commelina hirtella Vahl ”. Nevertheless, the holotype could not be located at MEXU. The paratype at NY (NY-03946618— Figure 1 ) seems to be the only extant original element for C. bravoa . This specimen is in agreement with the morphological description provided in the protologue, and I designate it as lectotype.

It is interesting to note that there is one specimen kept at MEXU identified as C. bravoa (MEXU-7757) that was collected by the same person (Helia Bravo Hollis) at the same locality (“Bosque Ajenjibre”) as the missing holotype, but on a different date (June 1953). No collector number was provided for this specimen. Nevertheless, this specimen cannot be considered original material for C. bravoa , because of the different collection date.

Based on comparison of the morphology of type specimens, I am convinced that the most similar species to C. bravoa is C. pallida (see below). The available records indicate that C. bravoa is endemic to Mexico. Further study is necessary to ascertain the circumscription of C. bravoa and clarify the distribution (and consequently the conservation status) of this species.

Specimens studied: — MEXICO. Puebla state: Bosque Ajenjibre , June 1953, H. Bravo H. s.n. (MEXU-7757) ; Veracruz state: Orizaba, Sierra de la Cruz, 1853, F. Müller s.n. (NY-03946618) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Lectotype of Commelina bravoa (F. Müller s.n., NY-03946618). Copyright: New York Botanical Garden. Image courtesy of the C. V. Starr Virtual Herbarium. Available online at: http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/vh/specimen-details/?irn=4282840