Cyathea decomposita (H.Karst.) Domin (1929a: 262)

Lehnert, Marcus, 2016, A synopsis of the exindusiate species of Cyathea (Cyatheaceae-Polypodiopsida) with bipinnate-pinnatifid or more complex fronds, with a revision of the C. lasiosora complex, Phytotaxa 243 (1), pp. 1-53 : 33

35. Cyathea decomposita (H.Karst.) Domin (1929a: 262) . Alsophila decomposita Karsten (1869: 185) . Trichipteris decomposita (H.Karst.) Tryon (1970: 45) . Type:— VENEZUELA. Mérida: “Cordillera Meridensis, altitudine 1500 m ” (lectotype W [Herb. Karsten]-0053357!, here designated, isolectotypes B-20-0078452!, GH-00020409! [fragment of B], LE-00008096!).

Alsophila oligocarpa Fée (1852: 346) . Type:— VENEZUELA. Mérida: Vallé, September 1846, N. Funck & L.J. Schlim 1002 (lectotype P-00642305!, isolectotypes GH-00247333!, P-00642304!, W-Rchb.-0053413!/-0053414!/-1889-0360017A!).

Distribution and habitat: — Venezuela, in cloud forests at (650–) 1300–2800 m.

Remarks: —The type material at B has two different handwritten labels, which are identical on each of the existing sheets. The first one says “ Venezuela, 1889 [sic], leg. Engel ”, the second one “129. Alsophila ( var tenera ) sp. no. … // decomposita … Fl. Columb. taf. 198. Merida ”. Karsten (1869) does not mention Franz Engel as collector in the descripton of the species, but he was one of his field assistants on his expedition ( Tryon 1970: 29). Accordingly, the handwritten collection date must be interpreted not as “1889” but as “1859”, as it is done on the Harvard University Herbaria website (see ‘Materials & Methods’ for link) for the lectotype fragment stored there.