Amaranthus mangostanus var. parvifolius Moquin-Tandon (1849: 262)

Iamonico, Duilio, 2016, Nomenclature survey of the genus Amaranthus (Amaranthaceae). 5. Moquin-Tandon’s names, Phytotaxa 273 (2), pp. 81-114 : 100

25. Amaranthus mangostanus var. parvifolius Moquin-Tandon (1849: 262)

Type (lectotype here designated):— Ind. Orient., 26 May 1815, Wallich 544 (P00606399!, image of the lectotype is available at http:// dsiphoto.mnhn.fr/sonnerat/LAPI/scanL/L20080303/P00606399.jpg).

= Amaranthus tricolor Linnaeus (1753: 989) . Type (lectotype designated by Townsend 1974: 14):—ASIA. Habitat in India, Herb. Linn. No. 1117.7 (LINN!).

Nomenclatural notes:— Moquin-Tandon (1849: 277−278) described this variety providing only a short dagnosis (“caule crassiusculo ramoso, foliis minoribus, glomerulis minutis numerosis approximatis”). In the Moquin-Tandon’s Herbarium at P there is one specimen (barcode 00606399) that bears two pieces (synflorescences) of a probably same gathering (so the Art. 9.17 can be applied), and two original labels including the annotations “ n° 544 Amaranthus polygamus Ind. Orient. 26 Mai 1815 U. Wallich ”, and “ Amaranthus mangostanus var. γ parvifolius Prodr. 13, 2, p. 262 ”. The name Am. polygamus , and the provenance (“ Ind. Orient. ”) were reported after the diagnosis of Am. mangostanus Linnaeus (1755: 32) sensu stricto. The Wallich’s plant has leaves with blade 0.5−1.5 cm long, and glomerules 0.5−1.5 cm in diameter. The blades of the leaves are less than those provided for the nominal taxon (“ folia 1½-2½ poll. longa (incl. petiolo 9–15 lin.)”), corresponding to about 1.6−2.6 cm for the leaves blade), so matching with the diagnosis (“ γ parvifolius…foliis minoribus ”). The glomerules are reduced (1.0− 1.1 cm in diameter) and are densely arranged along the stem as indicated by Moquin-Tandon (“ glomerulis minutis…approximatis ”). I here designated the specimen P00606399 as the lectotype of the name Amaranthus mangostanus var. parvifolius .

Taxonomical notes:—As in the previous case ( Am. mangostanus var. major —see above), I consider the diagnostic characters provided by Moquin-Tandon (1849) for the Amaranthus mangostanus var. parvifolius included in the variability of Am. tricolor . As a consequence I propose these two names to be synonyms.