Smilax menispermoidea De Candolle (1878: 108)

Sukhramani, Geetika & Choudhary, Ritesh Kumar, 2023, Taxonomic Reconciliation of Smilacaceae in the Indian Subcontinent: Synonymy, Typification, Updated Inventory, and a Vegetative Key for Identification, Phytotaxa 622 (1), pp. 42-62 : 52-53

3. Smilax menispermoidea De Candolle (1878: 108) . ( Fig. 5 )

Lectotype (first step, designated by Koyama 1983: 84):— Hooker f. & Thomson 7, Sikkim, K

Lectotype (second step, designated here):— INDIA. Sikkim: s.loc., s.d., J.D. Hooker 7 K000820877 ( K, digital image!) . Isolectotypes:— A00049888 ( A, digital image!), FI072428 ( FI, digital image!), G00701939 ( G, digital image!), GH00030113 ( GH, digital image!), K000820878 ( K, digital image!), K000820879 ( K, digital image!), L1462822 ( L, digital image!) .

Distribution:— BHUTAN, CHINA, INDIA, LAOS, MYANMAR, NEPAL, VIETNAM

Notes:— Alphonse De Candolle (1878) described Smilax menispermoidea based on a specimen ‘Hooker and Thomson 7’ from Sikkim collected by J.D. Hooker and indicated that the original material was housed at B, FI, and G. In our search for the type specimen, we found that ‘Hooker f. and Thomson 7’ collections were housed at various herbaria viz. A, FI, G, GH, K, and L. However, the specimens originally at B could not be located, presumably lost or destroyed during World War II (pers. comm.). Additionally, Koyama (1983) while preparing the account of Smilacaceae in Flora of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam wrote ‘Type: Hooker f. & Thomson 7, Sikkim, K’. The use of the term ‘type’ is correctable to ‘lectotype’, following article 9.10 of the ICN ( Turland et al. 2018). Notably, there are two sheets of S. menispermoidea at K bearing the same label as ‘Hooker f. and Thomson 7’, which qualifies as original material. Koyama’s (1983) work did not specify which of these sheets at K should be considered as the type. Given that Koyama’s designation effectively narrowed down the type of Hooker’s collection housed at K, it is construed here that his inadvertent designation constitutes the first-step of lectotypification. We hereby designate K000820877 as a second-step lectotype following articles 7.11, 9.3, 9.12, and 9.17 of the ICN ( Turland et al. 2018). This specimen perfectly matches the protologue description and bears detailed information about the female flowers.

While K specimens are not explicitly mentioned in the protologue, Koyama’s designation of it as the type specimen can be superseded under Article 9.19 (c) of the ICN. However, we have subsequently regarded it as a second-step lectotype, prioritizing it over the specimens mentioned in the protologue (B, FI, and G), because it shares the same label as the original and provides additional valuable floral information.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Lectotype (second-step) of Smilax menispermoidea De Candolle K000820877 © The Board of Trustees of the RBG, Kew (http://specimens.kew.org/herbarium/K000820877).