Amaranthus retroflexus var. major Moquin-Tandon (1849: 258)

Iamonico, Duilio, 2016, Nomenclature survey of the genus Amaranthus (Amaranthaceae). 5. Moquin-Tandon’s names, Phytotaxa 273 (2), pp. 81-114 : 102-103

30. Amaranthus retroflexus var. major Moquin-Tandon (1849: 258)

Type (neotype here designated):— FRANCE. Lyon, s.d., s. coll . s.n. (P 04021946 [digital image!], image of the neotype is available at http://mediaphoto.mnhn.fr/media/1449590474895DRYYIe8OoWHOgW4y).

= Amaranthus retroflexus Linnaeus (1753: 991) .

Type (lectotype designated by Townsend 1974: 12):—NORTH AMERICA. Herb. Linn. No. 1117.22 (LINN [digital image!], image available at http://linnean-online.org/11648/).

Nomenclatural notes:—A short diagnosis was given for this variety (“planta altior, paniculis valde ramosis sublaxis”) plus “v. s. c.” (= Visa viva culta) according to the page titled “ Signori Prodromus Explication ” ( Moquin-Tandon 1849). I found one specimen at P (barcode 04021946) with a label (on the bottom-right of the sheet) “ amaranthus retroflexus Linn. | Var. β. Major Prodr. 13, 2, 258 ”. A second label occurs just above the previous one reporting “ Amaranthus palarthus [?] | [illeg.] | de Lyon | herb. Balbis ”. Since the latter information does not occur in the protologue and the collection date is also lacking, I am not be sure that the P 04021946 is part of the original material and so eligible as lectotype. Unfortunately no further specimens were traced, so a neotype should be designated (Art. 9.7 of the ICN). I here designated the specimen P 04021946 as the neotype of the name Am. retroflexus var. major .

Taxonomical notes:— Am. retroflexus is a species highly variable from the morphological point of view and the characters proposed by Moquin-Tandon (1849: 258) to separate the taxon major at variety level have not taxonomic value (see e.g., Mosyakin & Robertson 2003, Iamonico 2008). As a consequence, Am. retroflexus var. major can be considered as synonym of Am. retroflexus .

31. Amaranthus thunbergii Moquin-Tandon (1849: 265−266) nomen novum pro Amaranthus albus Thunberg (1794: 45) non Linnaeus (1759a: 1268)

Type (lectotype here designated):— SOUTH AFRICA. in cultis Cap. B. spei ., s.d., Thunberg s.n. (UPS22237 [digital image!]) ( Fig. 2 ).

Nomenclatural notes:— Moquin-Tandon (1849: 262−263) dedicated this taxon to C. P. Thunberg proposing a replaced name of Amaranthus albus published by Thunberg in his Prodromus Plantarum Capensis (1794: 45). Actually, the Thunberg’s name is a later homonym of the Linnaean’s one, which was published 35 years earlier ( Linnaeus 1759b: 1268). Moquin-Tandon (1849) cited as synonym “ Amaranthus albus Thunb. fl. cap. ed. Sch. 1, p. 215, n.1 ” referring to the Flora Capensis , instead of the Thunberg’s Prodromus , but Thunberg (1823: 215−216) provided a reference to his Prodromus (“ A. ( albus )...Prodr. p. 45 ”) where the species was first published. In the Thunberg’s herbarium at UPS there is one specimen collected “ in cultis Cap. B. spei . Thunberg … Am. albus L. ” (original annotation). The plant beared in the sheet (a terminal branch with leaves and floral glomerules) shows features that match with the diagnosis and it corresponds to the current concept of the species (see e.g., Mosyakin & Robertson 2003), so it is here designated as the lectotype of the name Amaranthus thunbergii .

Taxonomical notes:—The species is currently recognized as a separate taxon, and it is morphologically similar to Am. albus from which mainly differs by having the bracts shorter than the tepals, and the tepals long-aristate apically ( Am. albus has bracts about 2 times longer than tepals, and tepals with acute to shortly acuminate apexes).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Lectotype of the name Amaranthus thunbergii (UPS!). A) Annotation on the reverse of the sheet.