Amaranthus tristis var. wightii Moquin-Tandon (1849: 260)

Iamonico, Duilio, 2016, Nomenclature survey of the genus Amaranthus (Amaranthaceae). 5. Moquin-Tandon’s names, Phytotaxa 273 (2), pp. 81-114 : 105

35. Amaranthus tristis var. wightii Moquin-Tandon (1849: 260)

Type (lectotype here designated):— INDIA. [Icon] Tav. 713, Amaranthus tristis in Wight 1843, image of the lectotype is available at http:// www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/1857#page/440/mode/thumb).

= Amaranthus tristis Linnaeus (1753: 989) . Type (lectotype designated by Iamonico 2014a: 149):—ASIA. Habitat in China, Herb. Linn., No. 1117.11 (LINN [digital image!], image of the lectotype is available at http://linnean-online.org/11637/).

≡ Amaranthus tricolor Linnaeus (1753: 989) .

Type (lectotype designated by Townsend 1974: 14):—ASIA. Habitat in India, Herb. Linn. No. 1117.7 (LINN [digital image!], image of the lectotype is available at http://linnean-online.org/11633/).

Nomenclatural notes:—This variety was dedicated to R. Wight. Moquin-Tandon (1849: 260) reported a short diagnosis (“ foliis minoribus, spicis mediocribus interruptis ”), the provenance and a synonym cited from Wight (1843: 6) (“ In Indiâ or. A. tristis Wight ic. t. 713 ”). The latter author (Wight l.c.) listed “ Amaranthus tristis (Linn. Willd. Roxb.) ”, so accepting the Linnaean concept of Am. tristis ( Linnaeus 1753: 989) . Roxburgh (1832: 604) reported “ A. tristis Willd. iv. 385 ”, while Willdenow (1805: 385−386) cited four synonyms from Willdenow (1790: 21, t. 5, f. 10), Linnaeus (1763: 1404), Miller (1768: n. 3), Royen (1740: 419, with a question mark), and Rumphius (1747: 231, t. 82, f. 2).

The illustration no. 713 by Wight (1843) appears to be the only extant original material and it is designated as the lectotype of the name Amaranthus tristis var. wightii .

Taxonomical notes:—According to the current concept in Amaranthus , the illustration no. 713 by Wight matches with Am. tricolor Linnaeus (≡ Am. tristis , see e.g., Mosyakin & Robertson 2003, Iamonico 2014a, 2015) and the two names can be considered as heterotypic synonyms.