Ischaemum flumineum Bor (1949: 572)

Landge, Shahid Nawaz & Shinde, Rajendra D., 2023, On the identity and distribution of Ischaemum flumineum (Poaceae: Andropogoneae) in India, Phytotaxa 619 (2), pp. 182-188 : 183-184

Ischaemum flumineum Bor (1949: 572) [ Fig. 1 ].

Lectotype (hic designatus):— INDIA. Bombay [erstwhile Bombay Presidency], Jog [Gersoppa], 28 April 1937, N. L. Bor 11390 ( K barcode K000245740 [digital image!]); syntype: Madras, Coimbatore, Top slip, November 1937, N. L. Bor 77265 ( DD [digital image!]).

Note: Bor (1949) described Ischaemum flumineum based on the collections he cited as follows: “ INDIA. Bombay: Jog, 28 April 1939, N. L. Bor 11390 (Typus in Herb. Kew. et in Herb. Dehra Dun.); Madras: Coimbatore, Top Slip, Nov. 1937, N. L. Bor s.n.” Apparently , he did not intend to designate a holotype, as he indicated the type to be in two different herbaria, i.e., K and DD. We also checked the CAL and MH herbaria for the presence of the type specimens, but they did not have the type specimens. However, when we consulted the concerned authority at the DD herbarium, they denied the presence of any specimen belonging to “ N. L. Bor 11390”. Instead, the specimen they had was labeled as “ N. L. Bor 77265” from Top Slip, Coimbatore, collected in November 1937. In the protologue, Bor’s cited specimen from Coimbatore lacked a collection number, which seems to be an error during typing, because based on the original information, no specimen was found at CAL, DD, K, and MH herbaria. This error of erroneous type citation may be corrected under the Art. 9.2 (Turland et al. 2018). Thus, the material from DD labeled as “ N. L. Bor 77265” is an original type specimen.

In the absence of any holotype designation by the original author, all the cited specimens that are from two different gatherings are considered syntypes, according to Art. 9.6 (Turland et al. 2018). From these specimens, a lectotype may be designated by following the Art. 9.3 (Turland et al. 2018). Here, we have selected a specimen “ N. L. Bor 11390” at K as a lectotype for the name Ischaemum flumineum , but its duplicate at DD could not be traced or is perhaps lost, if it is traced in future should to be called an isolectotype. The other cited material, “ N. L. Bor 77265”, from a different gathering which is housed at the DD herbarium, is a syntype.

Distrbution:— Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, South India ( Fig. 3 ). Hitherto, endemic to Peninsular India.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Type specimens of Ischaemum flumineum Bor. A. Lectotype (N. L. Bor 11390 at K). B. Syntype (N. L. Bor 77265 at DD). (© The Board of Trustees of the RBG, Kew & The Director, DehraDun Herbarium, Uttarakhand (DD).

FIGURE 3. Distribution of Ischaemum flumineum Bor in India based on the valid specimens housed at BLAT, DD and K herbaria. (Abbreviations: K: Karnataka state; TN: Tamil Nadu state).