Pamphalea ramboi Cabrera (1953: 229)

Platt, Fernando Henrique, Bündchen, Márcia & Miotto, Silvia Teresinha Sfoggia, 2016, Nomenclatural notes on Pamphalea (Asteraceae: Nassauvieae), Phytotaxa 273 (2), pp. 139-140 : 139-140

Pamphalea ramboi Cabrera (1953: 229)

Type:— BRAZIL. Rio Grande do Sul: Taimbesinho to São Francisco de Paula , 18 December 1950, B. Rambo SJ 49420 ( LP000356 !, lectotype, designated here; isolectotypes: LP000357 !, LP000358 !) .

= Pamphalea ramboi var. scaposa Merxmüller in Suessenguth & Merxmüller (1954: 36), syn. nov. Type:— BRAZIL. Santa Catarina: São Joaquim, Morro da Igreja , 1860 m a.s.l., P. R. Reitz 2968 ( HBR8056 !, lectotype, designated here; isolectotype: US00119792!).

Pamphalea ramboi was described based on the gathering of B. Rambo 49420 housed in the Museo de La Plata (LP). Freire & Iharlegui (2000) cited LP303451 as the holotype. However, this gathering, in the LP, comprises three elements and, thus, must be regarded as syntypes. According to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants ( McNeill et al. 2012), a lectotype should be selected among them. The lectotype designated above corresponds more closely to the original description.

Pamphalea ramboi var. scaposa was distinguished from P. ramboi by orbicular basal leaves that are cordate-based and subacute at the apex, slightly shiny, smooth, with margins slightly curved, unbranched stems with a reduced number of leaves, 20 cm tall, a single terminal capitulum, and involucral bracts partly trimucronate.

However, the characters used to distinguish the variety were found to be continuous in the species, highly variable and occurring together with the typical forms in some populations. Furthermore, some of these characters like single terminal capitulum and involucral bracts partly trimucronate are present in all other species of the genus. Therefore, the analysis of the type material of these two taxa and also the study of some populations in the field does not justify the recognition of this variety, which is consequently synonymized here.

Additionally, P. ramboi var. scaposa was described based on the gathering of P.R. Reitz 2968 that comprises three elements. The lectotype designated above corresponds more closely to the original description, and its plant has a greater number of vegetative and reproductive structures.