Piper leptostachyum Wall. ex Miq. Syst. Piperac.

Mukherjee, Prasanta Kumar, 2018, Nomenclatural notes on Piper Linn. (Piperaceae) from India II, Phytotaxa 338 (1), pp. 17-32 : 23

11. Piper leptostachyum Wall. ex Miq. Syst. Piperac. 1: 315. 1844, non Willd. ex Kunth Linnaea 13(6): 604. 1840 pro. syn. nom . invalid.

Type:— MYANMAR: Burma: Attran River, Wallich 6649, (holotype G-DC ( G 00206817 image!).

Homotypic synonym:— Piper indicum C.DC.Prodr. 16:362.1869 non Garsault Fig.Pl. Med.3: t. 459.1764 (1764:t. 459), nom . invalid opus utique oppressum.

Distribution:— INDIA: Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura; MYANMAR.

Note:— Piper leptostachyum Miq. was described with the types Wallich 1540 and 6649. The name, incidentally, has an earlier homonym of P. leptostachyum Willdenow ex Kunth (1840) , which was cited as a synonym of P. tenue Kunth (1816: 56) . Hence, Kunth’s name is invalid and P. leptostachyum Wall. ex Miq. is legitimate. Casimir de Candolle (1869) used the name P. indicum C. DC. , citing the Miquel’s name and reference, along with both Wallich specimens in “herb. Wall. et G-DC”. However, de Candolle’s name is a homonym of P. indicum Garsault (1764: 459) , which was published in a suppressed work and is invalid according to Art. 34.1 ( McNeill et al.,2012). J. D. Hooker (loc. cit.) opined that the mention of Wallich 1540 as one of the types by Miquel was an error. Hooker also clarified other matters of nomenclature, the latter with a question mark, and thus lectotypification became necessary.

This species has female spikes much longer than the leaves, with distantly placed flowers/fruits, and decurrent bracts. An extension of distribution of the species to India is recorded here based on the specimens cited below.

Additional specimens examined: INDIA: Arunachal Pradesh: Pungchow, Tirap FD, D. B. Deb 26597 (CAL); Paya to Shoeliang, Lohit FD, R. S. Rao 10855 (CAL); Tripura: Phuldungsai-Anada Bazar, 2000ft., D. B. Deb 27337 (CAL).