Vitex ferruginea Schumach. & Thonn.

Meerts, Pierre, 2018, Synopsis of the genus Vitex (Lamiaceae) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Plant Ecology and Evolution 151 (3), pp. 380-392 : 386

9. Vitex ferruginea Schumach. & Thonn.

( Schumacher 1827: 228); Baker (1900: 324); Durand & Durand (1909: 437); Pieper (1928: 70); Huber et al (1963: 447); Verdcourt (1992: 66); ( Beentje 1994: 622); Lebrun & Stork (1997: 524); Sales (2001: 193; 2005: 81); Coates Palgrave & Coates Palgrave (2005: 982); Cabral (2013: 211).

– Type: Ghana, near Aquapim, Thonning 265 (lecto-: Cbarcode C 10004696, designated here, isolecto-: Cbarcodes C 10004697 & C 10004695, FI barcode FI011043, Sbarcode S 11-26315) .

Vitex welwitschii Gürke ( Gürke 1893: 166) ; Hiern (1900: 166); Baker (1900: 329); Pieper (1928: 69); De Wildeman (1929a: 20); Robyns (1947: 140); Moldenke (1958b: 223); Lebrun & Stork (1997: 526).

– Type: Angola, Golungo Alto, Welwitsch 5644 (lecto-: Kbarcode K000249101 designated by Cabral (2013)) .

Vitex laurentii De Wild. ( De Wildeman 1909: 129; 1910a: 255; 1912b: 132). – Vitex welwitschii var. laurentii (De Wild.) W.Piep. ( Pieper 1928: 69) ; Robyns (1947: 141); Moldenke (1958b: 223).

– Type: D.R. Congo, Mogandjo, Mar. 1906, Laurent 1921 (lecto-: BR barcode BR0000008909305 designated by Cabral (2013), isolecto-: BR0000008909275) .

A tree. Young twigs ochraceous pubescent. Leaflets 5; petiolule 3–12 mm; lamina narrowly elliptic, acuminate, upper surface glabrous and smooth, dark blackish green in herbarium; lower surface shortly ochraceous pubescent on veins. Inflorescence of dichasia, much shorter then subtending leaf, few-flowered; bracts narrowly elliptic, discolorous, ochraceous tomentose beneath, glabrous above; calyx 3–5 mm, densely ochraceous pubescent; corolla 8–12 mm, cream with mauve lower lip, stamens long protruding; ovary hairy. Fruit 15–35 mm long.

Distribution – Widespread in tropical Africa, southwards to South Africa.

Note – Lectotypification of Vitex ferruginea Schumach. & Thonn. The three specimens of Thonning 265 in C (C barcodes C10004695, C10004696, C10004697) have to be considered as syntypes ( Hepper 1976). The most complete specimen is selected as the lectotype (C barcode C10004696).

Lectotypification of Vitex welwitschii Gürke. The protologue describes flowers, not fruits. Cabral (2013) designated Welwitsch 5644 (K barcode K000249101), a flowering specimen, as the lectotype. Welwitsch 5644 is, however, an admixture of specimens collected at three dates, two with flowers and one with fruits ( Hiern 1900). Therefore, as pointed out by Albuquerque et al. (2009), it is not recommended to consider sheets with the same number to be isolectotypes, in the case of Welwitsch’s collections. All the other remaining original material has therefore to be considered as syntypes (BM barcodes BM000834750 & BM000566971, COI barcode COI00077134, LISU barcodes LISU254232 & LISU223678, PRE barcode PRE0590365-0, Cbarcode C10001498).