Drymaria molluginea (Schrad.) Didr., Linnaea

Valentín-Martínez, Dagoberto, Steinmann, Victor W., Flores-Olvera, Hilda, Borsch, Thomas & Montesinos-Tubée, Daniel B., 2025, A nomenclator of Drymaria (Caryophyllaceae), PhytoKeys 266, pp. 139-175 : 139-175

34. Drymaria molluginea (Schrad.) Didr., Linnaea 29: 738. 1858.

≡ Alsine molluginea Lag., Gen. Sp. Pl. 13. 1816. nom. illeg. [non A. molluginea Hornem., (1813) ]. Type: Without locality information, s. d., M. Lagasca “ 1806 ” ( lectotype, designated by Duke 1961, pg. 194: G-DC [00212545 image!]).

≡ Arenaria molluginea Schrad., Index Seminum [Gottingen] 1819: 2. 1819.

≡ Arenaria molluginea Ser., Prodr. 1: 400. 1824. nom. illeg. superfl. [non A. molluginea Schrad., 1819 ].

≡ Stellaria molluginea (Schrad.) Sweet, Hort. Brit. ed. 2: 56. 1830.

≡ Spergularia molluginea (Schrad.) G. Don., Gen. Hist. 1: 425. 1831.

≡ Lepigonum mollugineum (Schrad.) Bartl., Index Seminum [Gottingen] 1838: 4. 1838.

= Alsine molluginea Hornem., Hort. Bot. Hafn. 1: 295. 1815 [1813]. Type: Cultivated at the Copenhagen Botanical Garden, s. d., J. W. Horneman s. n. ( holotype: [C image!]).

= Alsine molluginea Mart., Plant. Hort. Erlang. 82. 1814. nom. illeg. [non A. molluginea Hornem., (1813) ]. Type: Cultivated at the Erlangen Botanical Garden, s. d., C. F. P. Martius s. n. ( lectotype, designated here: BM [BM 001024715 image!] [ex. Herb. Roemer]).

= Drymaria sperguloides A. Gray, Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts 4 (1): 10. 1849. Type: United Sates. New Mexico, 1847, A. Fendler 55 ( holotype: GH [00037679 image!]; isotypes: MO [3578836 / 216516 image!]).

≡ Mollugophytum sperguloides (A. Gray) M. E. Jones, Contr. W. Bot. 18: 35. 1933.

Distribution.

United States, Mexico.

Notes.

As mentioned above, the name Alsine molluginea was proposed independently three times for the same taxon but with different types. Seringe is often credited as first proposing a name in Arenaria in 1824. However, five years earlier, Schrader provided a legitimate name in Arenaria . Although he did not include a description or diagnosis, his name should be accepted because his citation of “ Alsine Lag. ” constitutes an indirect reference to Lagasca’s description published in 1816. (see Turland et al. (2018), art. 41.3).

Although the specimen of Alsine molluginea at G-DC does not provide information, the protologue states that it is based on plants grown in the “ H. R. M. ” [Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid] from seed gathered in Nueva Hispania by D. D. Sessé [sic] & J. M. Mociño. Drymaria molluginea was first described as Alsine molluginea by the Danish botanist Jens Wilken Hornemann in an account of the plants found in the Copenhagen Botanical Garden. His morphological description was brief but stated that the species was an annual with divided petals and thick, linear, secund leaves. He also indicated that the habitat of the species is unknown, but that it was introduced in the garden in 1812 from material provided by the Vienna Botanical Garden. The specimen cited above was labeled by Horneman himself as Alsine molluginea (handwriting confirmed by Jens Soelberg, C), and is the only original material known. Martius independently described Alsine molluginea in his thesis on the plants from the Erlangen Botanical Garden. He stated that they came from the Paris Botanical Garden “ h. Par. ” The specimen at BM was labeled by Martius (handwriting confirmed by Han Joaquin Esser, M) as “ Alsine molluginea mihi enum. horti. Erlangensis. ” There are no specimens at M, where most of Martius’ collections can be found, and for that reason, we designate the collection at BM as the lectotype. The reason that we are attributing authorship of the basionym of Drymaria molluginea to Schrader and not to Hornemann is that Lagasca’s name was clearly mentioned when the combination to Drymaria was made by Didrichsen (1858), and no indication of Hornemann’s earlier proposal of Alsine molluginea was provided.