Lobelia exaltata Pohl (1831: 101)

Rollim, Isis De Mello, Coelho, Guilherme Peres, Miotto, Silvia Teresinha Sfoggia, Iganci, João Ricardo Vieira & Oliveira, Marcelo Trovó Lopes De, 2022, Nomenclatural and taxonomic survey of the South American clade of Lobelia section Rhynchopetalum (Campanulaceae), Phytotaxa 539 (1), pp. 45-54 : 49

2. Lobelia exaltata Pohl (1831: 101)

≡ Rapuntium exaltatum (Pohl) Presl (1836: 24) ≡ Haynaldia exaltata (Pohl) Kanitz (1878: 141) ≡ Dortmanna exaltata (Pohl) Kuntze (1891: 972) .

Type:— BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro: “ In Cap. Minas Geraes & ad Mathias Ramos Cap. Rio de Janeiro ”, s.d., Pohl 5151 (holotype: W! [ 0058412 ]) .

= Haynaldia exaltata var. ramosa Kanitz (1878: 141) .

Type: BRAZIL. São Paulo: loco non addicto, Burchell 4670 (holotype: K! [ K001047525 ]) .

= Lobelia stellfeldii Braga (1956: 52) , syn. nov.

Type:— BRAZIL. Paraná: Atuba, em campo pouco além do Posto Fiscal , 6 Abril 1955, Stellfeld 4998 (holotype: UPCB! [ 14369 ]) .

Notes: — Lobelia exaltata was described by Pohl (1831) based on the material collected during his expeditions in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. The protologue consists of a diagnosis, locality (“Habitat in uliginosis paludosisque locis Capitaniae Rio de Janeiro ad Fazenda Mathias Ramos, et Capitaniae Minas Geraes”), and detailed description. We found a single collection Pohl 5151 housed at W bearing a label perfectly matching the protologue. It is thus interpreted as its holotype.

Lobelia stellfeldii was described based on the Stellfeld 4998 collection from Paraná. It is morphologically closely related to L. exaltata , sharing with it the characteristic white flowers and glabrous leaves. The difference between these taxa was established mainly on the basis of geographic distribution, since the occurrence of L. exaltata in the south of Brazil was unknown at that time ( Braga 1956). The specimen Stellfeld 4998 (UPCB) has no flower parts or bracts, and is limited to leaves, fruits and seeds, all remarkably similar to those of L. exaltata specimens. The taxon does not have sufficient characteristics to be maintained as a distinct species, and thus is treated here as a synonym. In her MSc thesis Vieira (1988) synonymizes L. stellfeldii to L. exaltata but, according to Art. 29–32 of the ICN ( McNeill 2014), her thesis cannot be considered an effective publication.