Luehea laxiflora Saint-Hilaire (1828: 293)

Gerace, Samuele, Bovini, Massimo G., Peruzzi, Lorenzo & Baumgratz, José Fernando A., 2022, Typification of names in the neotropical genus Luehea (Malvaceae: Grewioideae), Phytotaxa 542 (2), pp. 180-188 : 183

Luehea laxiflora Saint-Hilaire (1828: 293) .

Type:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Minas Novas, Saint-Hilaire s.n. (lectotype [as ‘holotype’], first-step designated by Cunha (1985: 17); second-step lectotype, designated here, P! [ P 02142938 ] ; isolectotypes P! [ P00636499 ], [ P 02142941 , on the left]). [= Luehea speciosa Willd. ]

While Saint-Hilaire (1828) did not mention a particular specimen to describe L. laxiflora , three of his original specimens are in Herbarium P, where his collection is kept ( Stafleu & Cowan 1976 –1988: 1064). Cunha (1985) indicated the ‘holotype’ in P, but without having seen it and specifying an identification number. Consequently, the status of the type needs to be corrected as lectotype and it can be considered as a first-step typification (Art. 9.17 of the ICN). In accordance with Arts. 9.3 and 9.4 of the ICN, we designate herein specimen P 02142938 as the second-step lectotype by choosing the best preserved specimen congruent with the protologue’s description. Based on the type materials and the original descriptions, the application of the name L. laxiflora is confirmed as a heterotypic synonym of L. speciosa , as previously accepted by Schumann (1886).