Astropanax goetzenii (Harms) Lowry, G.M. Plunkett, Gostel & Frodin, 2017

Lowry Ii, Porter P., Plunkett, Gregory M., Gostel, Morgan R. & Frodin, David G., 2017, A synopsis of the Afro-Malagasy species previously included in Schefflera (Araliaceae): resurrection of the genera Astropanax and Neocussonia, Candollea 72 (2), pp. 265-282 : 270-271

A4. Astropanax goetzenii (Harms) Lowry, G.M. Plunkett, Gostel & Frodin , comb. nov.

÷ Schefflera goetzenii Harms in Goetzen, Durch Afr., Repr. 7: 376. 1895.

Neotypus (designated here): DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. Prov. Kivu-Nord: E slope of Niragongo Volcano [= Mt. Nyiragongo], 2440 m, 6.I.1931, Burtt 3224 ( K [ K001208218 ]!). = Schefflera stuhlmannii Harms in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 26 :

243. 1899. Neotypus (designated here): TANZANIA .

Morogoro Region: Morningside, Uluguru Mountains , XI.1934, bud, Bruce 240 ( K!; isoneo-: BM

[BM00129656]!, BR [BR14695070]!).

= Schefflera adolfi-fridericii Harms in Wiss. Ergebn. Deut. Zentr.-Afr. Exped., Bot. 2: 590. 1913. Typus:R WANDA: Bugoie, Milbraed 1478 (B†).

= Schefflera mildbraedii Harms in Wiss. Ergebn. Deut. Zentr.-Afr. Exped., Bot. 2: 591. 1913. Typus: RWANDA. Prov. Ouest: Rukarara [= Lukarara], Milbraed 1010 (B†).

= Schefflera sycidiifolia Lebrun in Bull. Jard. Bot. Etat Bruxelles 13: 19. 1934. Lectotypus (designated here): DEM- OCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. Prov. Nord-Kivu: entre Kasindi et Lubango, chaîne W du lac Edouard , 2320 m, I.1932, bud, Lebrun 4755 (BR [ BR00886166 ]!; isolecto-: BR [ BR00886165 ]!, K [ K00350386 ]!).

Habitat and distribution. – Astropanax goetzenii occurs in eastern Africa, from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Rwanda through southern Tanzania to Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It grows in humid to seasonally dry forest, and also in secondary forest, from 800 to 2,500 m elevation ( BAMPS, 1974b; APD, 2017).

Notes. – The holotype of Schefflera goetzenii Harms (Götzen s.n.), from what is now known as Mt. Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was deposited at B and is presumably destroyed. We have not been able to locate any isotypes, so we have designated as the neotype the only other know collection from the same mountain, Burtt 8155, which is deposited at K .

Schefflera stuhlmannii Harms was based on two collections made by Franz Ludwig Stuhlmann, (1863-1928) in Tanzania (Stuhlmann 8849 and 9277), both of which were deposited at B and are therefore presumably destroyed, and neither of which appears to have duplicates in other herbaria. While FRODIN & GOVAERTS (2004) regarded S. stuhlmannii as distinct from S. goetzenii (÷ Astropanax goetzenii ), we have chosen to follow BAMPS (1974a, 1974b) in treating it as a synonym, at least until more detailed morphometric and/or phylogenetic analyses can be undertaken. We have therefore designated as a neotype the specimen of Bruce 240 deposited at K, which corresponds well to the protologue and is represented by two duplicates at BM and BR. By contrast, we have refraied from designating a neotype for S. adolfi-fridericii Harms and S. mildbraedii Harms , whose types was also deposited at B and for which no isotypes are known, because we have not been able to find any material that appears to correspond well to the protologues.

The type collection of Schefflera sycidiifolia Lebrun at BR is represented by two sheets. We have selected the specimen bearing the original label as the lectotype.