Impatiens ligulata Beddome (1959: 67)

Singh, Rajeev Kumar, 2016, Typification of thirty six names of thirty five recognized taxa in Impatiens (Balsaminaceae), endemic to Western Ghats, Phytotaxa 268 (3), pp. 167-180 : 170

13. Impatiens ligulata Beddome (1959: 67) .

Type citation:—“Anamallay Hills”, “Teak forests 2 to 3000 feet, very abundant.”

Type:— INDIA. Anamallay [Anamalai] forests, 3000 ft., s.d., Beddome s.n. (lectotype K 000694873!, designated here).

Distribution:— India, endemic and rare (Kerala and Tamil Nadu).

Notes:—In the protologue of Impatiens ligulata, Beddome (1859) mentioned type information as ‘Anamallay Hills”, “Teak forests 2 to 3000 feet, very abundant.”. This implies that he might have collected more than one specimen from Anamalai hills ranging from 2000 ‒ 3000 ft. A single type specimen is now extant at K (K000694873) and is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue.

Three specimens collected by Beddome from Anamalai hills at MH were also traced, but the date mentioned on the herbarium label in two sheets (Accession no. 7426 and 7429) is 1873 and in third (Accession no. 7428) is 1869. The title of herbarium labels pasted on these sheets is Madras Museum Herbarium and the information filled in these labels is not in Beddome’s handwriting. It implies that the date given on these sheets is not the date of collection of specimens, but it may be the date of inclusion of these specimens in Madras Museum Herbarium (MH). Likely, in some specimens of Beddome at K on the herbarium labels the date of receiving of specimens at K is mentioned. In MH most of the specimens of Beddome having labels title with Madras Museum Herbarium, only some with original Beddome’s labels and handwriting. Due to uncertainty, these specimens are not considered here as original material.