Lobelia organensis Gardner (1845: 128)

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 : 51

8. Lobelia organensis Gardner (1845: 128)

≡ Haynaldia organensis (Gardner) Kanitz (1878: 143) ≡ Dortmanna organensis (Gardner) Kuntze (1891: 973).

Type:— BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro: “Moist open rocky places, Organ Mountains , at an elevation of about 5000 feet ”, March 1841, Gardner 5798 (lectotype, designated here: K! [ 000494312 ] , isolectotype: K! [ 001047470 ]) .

= Lobelia imperialis Wimmer (1935: 94) , syn. nov.

Type:— BRAZIL. Westin 779 (holotype: UPS! [ V-133764 ]) .

= Lobelia imperialis var. kanitzii Wimmer (1953: 641) , syn. nov.

Type:— BRAZIL. s.l., s.d., F. Sellow s.n. (holotype: CGE! , isolectotypes: M! [ 185357 ], B! [presumably destroyed]) .

Notes: — When describing Lobelia organensis , Gardner (1845) referred to the specimen Gardner 5798, collected in Rio de Janeiro and with two duplicates housed at K. We designate the specimen K000494312, with a label in Gardner’s hand and a description of habitat that more closely matches the protologue, as the lectotype.A photograph of a duplicate of Gardner 5798 that once belonged to W is available in the Field Museum photo negatives collection. That duplicate was not found in the online collection and was probably lost during the World War II.

Analyzing the type of Lobelia imperialis we opted to include it as a synonym of L. organensis , since there were no reliable traits supporting the recognition of this species as distinct from L. organensis . Both taxa exhibit glabrescent leaves, small deflexed bracts, and the ovary about 3/4 free from the hypanthium. The synonymization also applies to the name L. imperialis var. kanitzii , with its type being quite similar to L. organensis and presenting only small inconsistent differences.