11. Erythrina verna Vell., Fl. Flumin.: 304. 1829; Fl. Flumin. Icon. 7: tab. 102. 1831.

Fig. 11

= Erythrina flammea Herzog, Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 7: 57. 1909. Type: Bolivia. Santa Cruz: “Häufiger Baum in den Savannenwäldchen der Hügel von Buenavista", ca. 400 m, October 1907, Herzog 72 (holotype: Z [Z-000022779]). (1)

Type material.

Brazil. Rio de Janeiro: "Maritimis habitat", s.d., s.leg., s.n. (lectotype, designated by Martins and Tozzi 2018, pg. 401: illustration in Biblioteca Nacional Digital Brasil [mss1198656_106]; also in Vellozo 1831, tab. 102); Brazil. Rio de Janeiro: Sta. Maria Magdalena, September 1913, Constantino s.n. (epitype, designated by Martins and Tozzi 2018, pg. 401: RB [RB00176986!]; isoepitypes: K [K000931001], NY [NY00600987], U [U.1243354, U.1243356], US [US02339391]).

Notes.

Vellozo (1829) published E. verna with a complete description, but without mentioning any type specimen. His illustration was published in Vellozo (1831), and Martins and Tozzi (2018) correctly designated it as the lectotype. However, as Vellozo’s illustration was an incomplete drawing of some inflorescences and dissected flowers that could be easily mistaken for some other Erythrina species, Martins and Tozzi (2018) also correctly designated an epitype to represent the species better (Fig. 11).

(1) Herzog (1909) validly published E. flammea from Bolivia with a complete description and mentioning the type specimen. The name was already synonymized under E. verna by Krukoff and Barneby (1974).

Etymology.

The specific epithet " Erythrina verna " is derived from Latin, meaning " related to spring ", and it was presumably chosen due to the association of the flowering period of the species to the beginning of the spring season in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (September).

Vernacular names.

According to Carvalho (2014) and herbarium records, E. verna is generally known as “mulungu” in Brazil, and also as “corticeira” in the state of Bahia; “bico-de-papagaio”, “corticeira-ceboleiro”, “mulungu-de-flor-branca” or “suinã” (and spelling variations) in Minas Gerais; and “mulungú-de-várzea”, “suinã” or “suinã-da-Argentina” in São Paulo.