Lilium lancifolium Thunb. in Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 1794

Yun-Dong Gao & Xin-Fen Gao, 2017, Typification of Lilium lancifolium, Taxon 66 (1), pp. 172-174 : 172-174

TYPIFICATION

Thunberg did not select a type specimen or provide an illustration for Lilium lancifolium when he named the species and described it as “Foliis sparsis lanceolatis, corollis erectis subcampanulatis” (1794: 333). In his description, Thunberg cited his earlier misidentification of L. lancifolium in Flora Japonica as L. bulbiferum L. Based on the record of German naturalist Engelbert Kaempfer in his Amoenitatum (1712: 871), Thunberg included L. bulbiferum in Flora Japonica ; later he realized this is a new species and named it L. lancifolium (1794: 333) . We first searched for original material of Lilium lancifolium in the collections of Kaempfer. Kaempfer did not des- ignate or refer to any specimens in his work (1712: 871). With assistance from curatorial staff, we searched collections in BM (based on Stafleu, 1986) but failed to yield any original material (J. Wajer, pers. comm.).

We then sought original material of Lilium lancifolium col- lected by Thunberg during his travels in Japan. To accomplish this, we identified herbaria that contain Thunberg material using Taxonomic literature ( Stafleu, 1986) and found 22 such herbaria. Among these were UPS, where Thunberg’s primary collections are housed, as well as other institutions to which Thunberg sent Japanese specimens, namely G, L, LD, S and U. We searched these collections via online databases and through personal communications with curators, and found only one L. lancifolium specimen collected by Thunberg, with the name annotated on the sheet. The specimen is UPS-THUNB No. 8139 ( Fig. 1 ), and it is housed in a special repository at UPS for ~28,000 of Thunberg’s collections from Japan (partially data- based at http://cpthunberg.ebc.uu.se/thunberginjapan). We here regard this specimen as “original material” of L. lancifolium .

The UPS-THUNB No. 8139 sheet bears no locality details, but it clearly comprises one of Thunberg’s collections from Japan.

The above conclusion is based on the specimen having upward oriented (i.e., “corollis erectis”) flowers and lanceo- late leaves (i.e., “Foliis … lanceolatis”). This probably misled Thunberg attributing Lilium bulbliferum to UPS-THUNB No. 8139 which bearing buds instead of flowers, since the flower orientation of L. lancifolium will change from upwards to nod- ding with maturity as pedicels elongate (Y.D. Gao, pers. obs. in the field). In eastern Asia, there are very few species that have bulbils and heavy stem hair, facilitating the identifica- tion of the UPS-THUNB No. 8139 specimen. After extensive examination, we confirmed this specimen as one of Thunberg’s material of L. lancifolium based on possessing (1) trichomes on the stem and leaves ( Liang & Tamura, 2000; Skinner, 2002) and (2) distal leaves bearing dark purple axillary bulbils ( Liang & Tamura, 2000; Skinner, 2002).

Typification of Lilium lancifolium is a first step towards resolution of the taxonomic and nomenclatural confusion of the species. Below, we designate the specimen UPS-THUNB No. 8139 as the lectotype of L. lancifolium Thunberg , consistent with Art. 7–10 of the ICN ( McNeill & al., 2012). In particular, the specimen comprises an original collection of the species by the authority from the type locality (i.e., Japan), and satisfies the concept presented in the protologue.

Lilium lancifolium Thunb. in Trans. Linn. Soc. London 2: 333. 1794

– Lectotype (designated here): “ Lilium lancifolium ” (UPS-THUNB No. 8139 [digital image!]).

= Lilium tigrinum Ker Gawl. in Bot. Mag. 31: t. 1237. 1809 – Holotype: [illustration in] Bot. Mag. 31: t. 1237. 1809.

Figures

Fig. 1. Thunberg's collection No. 8139 from Japan.