Geissois, FROM

Fortune Hopkins, Helen C., 2006, Nomenclature and typification in Geissois (Cunoniaceae) in the South-West Pacific, Adansonia (3) 28 (2), pp. 311-327 : 315-316

NAMES IN GEISSOIS FROM

NEW CALEDONIA

Several names in Geissois from New Caledonia are based on specimens collected by Vieillard or Lécard. For instance, Vieillard material was cited in the protologues of seven taxa ( G. hirsuta , G. intermedia , G. lanceolata , G. montana , G. polyphylla , G. pruinosa [ var. pruinosa ] and G. pruinosa var. macrantha ). The problems with Vieillard’s collections, where a number has been used to refer to his concept of a species rather than an individual gathering, are well known and have already been described in relation to Codia ( Hopkins 2005) . Sheets previously placed in type folders in various herbaria sometimes have the same number as the specimen cited in the protologue but a different date and/or a different locality. Even with the same date and locality, material sometimes appears to be from more than one gathering and so is not all clearly part of the lectotype. In some cases (frequently at G for instance), a handwritten date refers to when the specimen was distributed from Caen by Sébastien-René Lenormand, to whom Vieillard sent his material, rather than indicating the date of collection.

Specimens collected by Lécard were cited in the protologues of G. balansae , G. hippocastanifolia , G. polyphylla and G. trifoliolata , and he also collected material of G. racemosa . His specimens are sometimes problematical but for reasons different from those concerning Vieillard’s. Some Lécard collections have no number or date, and while some indicate a general locality or habitat, such as “forêts de l’intérieur” or “hauts plateaux”, the only precise locality for a Geissois collection is Uarai or Uaraï. This locality, which is on the west coast near La Foa ( McKee 1972; Tirel C., Lescot M., Morat P. & Veillon J.- M., web site: Index géoréférencé des localités de prospection botanique en Nouvelle- Calédonie. Carnets des récoltes de H. S. MacKee, http://phanero.novcal.free.fr, consulted on 4 April 2006), is also sometimes spelled Ouarai or Ourai on specimen labels and has the alternative spellings Houraye and Urai on the map in McKee (1972). As with many of the early localities such as Balade, Wagap, Kanala and Gatope, the name indicates a general area. Because label data are often either lacking or only partial (and then with different or overlapping information on different sheets), it is often difficult to determine which sheets constitute a single gathering.

In addition to the accounts of the expeditions referred to under taxonomic history, information on early plant collectors in New Caledonia has been taken from Guillaumin (1911a) and papers by Hugh Shaw McKee (alternative spelling: MacKee) and his wife Margaret ( H. S. McKee 1966; M. E. McKee 1972; McKee & McKee 1981).

VALIDLY PUBLISHED NAMES