Croton jennyanus Gris ex Baill., Adansonia 1: 160. 1861, as 'jennyanum'

Berry, Paul E., Kainulainen, Kent & Ee, Benjamin W. van, 2017, A Nomenclator of Croton (Euphorbiaceae) in Madagascar, the Comoros Archipelago, and the Mascarene Islands, PhytoKeys 90, pp. 1-87 : 41-42

77. Croton jennyanus Gris ex Baill., Adansonia 1: 160. 1861, as 'jennyanum'

Croton squamiger Baill., Adansonia 1: 168. 1861, as ' squamigerum '. Type. Madagascar. Prov. Antsiranana: sin. loc., s.d., J.M.C. Richard 576 (lectotype, designated here: P [P00133578]!; isolectotype: P [P00133579]!). Madagascar. Prov. Antsiranana: Diégo-Suarès et baie de Rigny, 1837, J.M.C. Richard 176 (syntype: P [P00133577]!). Madagascar. Prov. Antsiranana: Cap d’Ambre, 1847-1852, L.H. Boivin 2658 (syntype: P [P00133273]!).

Croton squamiger var. obtusifolius Müll.Arg. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 523. 1866, nom. inval. Type. Based on Croton squamiger Baill.

Oxydectes jennyana (Gris ex Baill.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 612. 1891. Type. Based on Croton jennyanus Gris ex Baill.

Oxydectes squamigera (Baill.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 613. 1891. Type. Based on Croton squamiger Baill.

Type.

Madagascar. Prov. Antsiranana [Diana Region]: vers les bas-fonds humides, lorsqu’on s’élève par les torrents au dessus des montagnes qui se trouvent au nord du port Lugwata [Diego Suarez], 1833, J.P. Goudot s.n. (holotype: G [G00434419]!; isotypes: P [P00133278]!, P [P00154519]!) .

Habit and distribution.

Shrubs; northern and western Madagascar (Antsiranana, Mahajanga).

Notes.

We follow here the precedent of Leandri (1939) and Radcliffe-Smith (2016) in treating Croton squamiger as a synonym of C. jennyanus , but we differ in treating C. hypochalibaeus as a distinct, more highland species rather than as another synonym of C. jennyanus (see Kainulainen et al., 2016). According to our interpretation, C. jennyanus is restricted to lower elevations in northern Madagascar (Montagne des Français, Sahafary, Daraina, Ankarana), as well as in far midwestern Madagascar on or near tsingy formations (Bemaraha).

Concerning the type of Croton squamiger , three other sheets of Boivin 2658 correspond to C. brevispicatus , so this is clearly a mixed collection. In the description of C. squamiger , Baillon (1861) divided the species into two infraspecific taxa, a and b. These were subsequently named by Müller (1866) as C. squamigerus var. obtusifolius (the typical variety) and C. squamigerus var. acutifolius , respectively. The latter has been recognized here to be synonymous with C. hypochalibaeus .

We have corrected the termination of the specific epithet to " Croton squamiger " [masc. gender, Adj. group A nom., see Stearn (1992: 91) and Art. 23.5 and Art. 60.9 Ex. 24 ( ICN 2012; Croton ciliato-glanduliferum Ortega corrected to C. ciliatoglandulifer ).

Radcliffe-Smith (2016) listed Croton jennyanus as being present in the Comoros Archipelago. The three collections he cited [Pascal 928 (K, P) from Mayotte, and Floret 1241 (P) and 1249 (P) from Mohéli] all correspond to C. humblotii .