Author's personal copy KEW BULLETIN (2017) 72:14 DOI 10.1007/S12225-017-9694-5
ISSN: 0075-5974 (print) ISSN: 1874-933X (electronic)
Gnaphalium peguense, a new name for Gnaphalium flaccidum (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) R. Kr. Singh1 Summary. The name Gnaphalium flaccidum Kurz ex C. B. Clarke is lectotypified here with a specimen at K and a new name Gnaphalium peguense R. Kr. Singh is proposed to replace G. flaccidum Kurz ex C. B. Clarke, which is an illegitimate later homonym of G. flaccidum Weinm. Key Words. Compositae, illegitimate, India, later homonym, Myanmar, replacement name.
Introduction Gnaphalium L. (Linnaeus 1753: 850) (Asteraceae [Compositae]: Gnaphalieae), contains about 80 species worldwide (Bayer et al. 2007; Ward et al. 2009). So far, four species have been documented for the Indian flora (Karthikeyan et al. 2009) and two for the Bihar state of India (Karthikeyan et al. 2009; Singh et al. 2001). During a systematic study of this genus for Bihar state of India, I found that the name Gnaphalium flaccidum Kurz ex C. B. Clarke (1876: 115) is an illegitimate later homonym of G. flaccidum Weinm. (Weinmann 1820: 610) [= Achyrocline flaccidum (Weinm.) DC. (De Candolle 1838: 220)]. Therefore a new name, Gnaphalium peguense R. Kr. Singh, is proposed as a replacement name for G. flaccidum Kurz ex C. B. Clarke. The lectotype for the name G. flaccidum Kurz ex C. B. Clarke is designated here in accordance with the guidelines of Art. 9.2 and Recommendations 9A, 9C and 9D of the Melbourne Code (McNeill et al. 2012).
Nomenclature Gnaphalium peguense R. Kr. Singh, nom. nov. http://www.ipni.org/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77161222-1 Replaced synonym: Gnaphalium flaccidum Kurz ex C. B. Clarke, Compos Ind.: 115 (1876), nom. illeg., non Gnaphalium flaccidum Weinm. (Weinmann 1820: 610) [= Achyrocline flaccidum (Weinm.) DC. (De Candolle 1838: 220)]. Type citation: “Hab. In Pegu coll. Kurz. No. 2454”. Type: Myanmar, Pegu (Bago), Irrawaddy, Sittang valley, 21 Jan. 1871, W. S. Kurz 2254 (lectotype K001045934!, here designated; isolectotype CAL!).
DISTRIBUTION. India (Bihar and West Bengal) and
Myanmar. ETYMOLOGY. The specific epithet is derived from the name of its type locality. NOTES. Clarke (1876), while describing Gnaphalium flaccidum, formally mentioned the gathering of Kurz 2454 as type. In keeping with the practice of those times, he did not designate a holotype nor did he mention the name of the herbarium where the specimens were housed. Two specimens of Kurz 2454 collected from Pegu were traced (CAL and K001045934). The best, and better preserved, specimen K001045934, is chosen here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. On both type specimens of Gnaphalium flaccidum Kurz ex C. B. Clarke at CAL and K the date of collection is mentioned as “21/1”. The year of collection is not mentioned on the sheet, but from adjacent collection numbers from Pegu by Kurz held at CAL and K, it is clear that the type specimens were collected in 1871. Clarke also collected Gnaphalium flaccidum from Purwah, Maldah (Malda), Bengal (West Bengal) on 13 Feb. 1876 [collection no. 26976 A (K001045932) and 26,976 B (CAL)], but these collections are not mentioned in the protologue. It is unclear whether Clarke examined these specimens or not while describing G. flaccidum. Due to this uncertainty, these specimens are not considered here as original material. This species can be easily distinguished from other species of Gnaphalium in having stems 8 – 15 cm high, erect or suberect, sparingly cottony, with very flaccid obovate leaves, apex rounded, and heads in terminal, globose, solitary clusters, and shiny yellow.
Accepted for publication 8 March 2017. 1 Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Southern Regional Centre (SRC), TNAU Campus, Lawley Road, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India. e-mail:
[email protected]
© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2017
