Impatiens cornuta Linnaeus (1753: 937)

Singh, Rajeev Kumar, 2017, Lectotypification of three Linnaean names in Impatiens (Balsaminaceae), Phytotaxa 321 (3), pp. 299-300 : 299

2. Impatiens cornuta Linnaeus (1753: 937) = Impatiens balsamina Linnaeus (1753: 938) .

Type (lectotype, designated here):— SRI LANKA. Without locality, s.d., Paul Hermann 3: 9, no. 316 ( BM 000621820 [digital image!]).

Further original material:— SRI LANKA. Without locality, s.d., Paul Hermann 4: 4, no. 316 BM 000628028 [digital image!], BM 000628029 [digital image!], BM 000628030 [digital image!].

Notes:—Linnaeus’ protologue of Impatiens cornuta consists of a short diagnosis, citation to his earlier work Flora Zeylanica, number 316 ( Linnaeus 1747) and one synonym cited from Burman (1737: 41). The provenance was also provided as “Habitat in Zeylona”. The illustration of Burman (1737: t. 16. f. 1) is original material for the name I. cornuta . In the Hermann’s herbarium at BM there are four specimens [Paul Hermann 4: 4, no. 316 ( BM 000628028, BM 000628029, BM 000628030) and Paul Hermann 3: 9, no. 316 ( BM 000621820)], which were studied by Linnaeus for his Flora Zeylanica. These can serve as types for Linnaean name ( Trimen 1887, Jarvis 2007). When designating types, specimens are generally preferred over illustrations because specimens generally possess characters not observable in icons ( Jarvis 2007). Of the four specimens at BM, the best preserved specimen with a short note on the sheet by Paul Hermann, BM 000621820, is designated as the lectotype for the name I. cornuta as it agrees well with the short diagnosis given in the protologue. The lectotype of I. balsamina Linnaeus was already designated by Christenhusz & Jarvis (2010):— INDIA. Without locality, s.d., Anon. s.n. ( LINN-HL 1053-3 [digital image!]).