Medinilla johnii Kottaim., 2023

Kottaimuthu, Ramalingam, 2023, Medinilla johnii, a new name for Medinilla parvifolia Baker (Melastomataceae), Phytotaxa 598 (3), pp. 269-270 : 269

Medinilla johnii Kottaim. , nom. nov.

Replaced name:— Medinilla parvifolia Baker (1883: 149) nom. illeg.,

non Medinilla parvifolia Seemann (1866: 89) .

Lectotype (designated here):— MADAGASCAR. s.loc., R. Baron 2784 (P, barcode P00412868!; isolectotype: E, barcode E00681456!, K, specimen with barcode K000242535!).

Etymology:—Named after John Gilbert Baker (1834-1920), author of the replaced name.

Distribution:— Madagascar (Provinces of Antsiranana & Antananarivo). Endemic ( POWO 2023).

Habitat: Widespread species commonly seen in rock outcrops, slopes, peaks and rainforest from 1000 to 2000 m altitude ( Perrier 1951).

Notes: Baker (1883) described Medinilla parvifolia based on the collections of Baron from Central Madagascar, but he did not mention collection dates and numbers in the protologue. According to Stafleu & Mennega (1992), Baron’s collections are mainly at K. Substantial duplicate sets are at B, BM, E, G, MO, P, TAN and W. I have traced six sheets from four different herbaria, one each at E [E00681456G] and G [G00316247], two from P [P00412868, P00412869] and the other two sheets are in K, of which two of the collections are mounted on a single sheet [K000242534, K000242535]. Of these, the best preserved specimen, P00412868, is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue.