Lycianthes synanthera (Sendtn.) Bitter, Abh. Naturwiss. Verein Bremen 24 [preprint]: 499. 1919

Dean, Ellen, Poore, Jennifer, Anguiano-Constante, Marco Antonio, Nee, Michael H., Kang, Hannah, Starbuck, Thomas, Rodrigues, Annamarie & Conner, Matthew, 2020, The genus Lycianthes (Solanaceae, Capsiceae) in Mexico and Guatemala, PhytoKeys 168, pp. 1-333 : 1

Lycianthes synanthera (Sendtn.) Bitter, Abh. Naturwiss. Verein Bremen 24 [preprint]: 499. 1919

Solanum synantherum Sendtn., Flora 29 (13): 194 [as 178]. 1846. Type: Guatemala [Costa Rica. Province Alajuela], Monte Aguacate, E. von Friedrichsthal 1292 (lectotype designated here: W [acc. # 0003083]; isolectotypes: W [acc. # 0003081, acc. # 0003082], F [F0073153F, acc. # 871594]).

Type.

Based on Solanum synantherum Sendtn.

We have not been able to confirm the existence of the usually epiphytic shrub/vine L. synanthera in Guatemala, and it likely does not occur there; we have located and examined many specimens of L. synanthera from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. The type material of Solanum synantherum was collected by Friedrichsthal at Monte Aguacate. His labels were preprinted with the word “Guatemala,” however Monte Aguacate is located in Costa Rica, Province Alajuela. In her thesis, Reyes Cornejo (2015) cited one specimen of L. synanthera from Guatemala, Steyermark 41657 (US), which is available as an online image, and this specimen is not L. synanthera ; it likely is Cuatresia . All the Guatemalan specimens at herbarium MEXU that were previously identified as L. synanthera have been reidentified by the first author as L. nitida , L. heteroclita , or Witheringia .

In his protologue for Solanum synantherum , Sendtner (1846) just cited the one collection of Friedrichsthal (Friedrichsthal 1292) with no specific herbarium cited. We located duplicates of this collection (syntypes) at both W and F: W [acc. # 0003083, acc. # 0003081, acc. # 0003082] and F [F0073153F, acc. # 871594]. We selected one of the specimens at W (acc. # 0003083) as the lectotype.