Ticanto Adans., Fam. Pl. 2: 319. 1763.

Clark, Ruth P., Jiang, Kai-Wen & Gagnon, Edeline, 2022, Reinstatement of Ticanto (Leguminosae - Caesalpinioideae) - the final piece in the Caesalpinia group puzzle, PhytoKeys 205, pp. 59-98 : 59

Ticanto Adans., Fam. Pl. 2: 319. 1763.

Caesalpinia sect. Nugaria DC., Prodr. 2: 481, 1825.

Nugaria Prain, J. As. Soc. Beng. 66(ii): 470, 1897 nom. inval. nom. provis.

Type.

Guilandina paniculata Lam.

Etymology and type notes.

Despite reference in the protologue of Ticanto to the plate H.M. 6. t. 19, this did not constitute typification of the name because Adanson did not mention a previously or simultaneously published species name, nor the type of such a name ( Turland et al. 2018; Art. 10.2; https://www.iapt-taxon.org/nomen/pages/main/art_10.html). The rules of the Code ( Turland et al. 2018) state that a type must therefore be otherwise chosen, which in this case has been achieved in the published card index of Index Nominum Genericorum (https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/botany/ing/) by reference to Guilandina paniculata Lam. (1785). The application of the name Ticanto is therefore fixed by the type of G. paniculata Lam., H.M. 6. t. 19, now a heterotypic synonym of Caesalpinia crista L.

The name Ticanto was a vernacular name used for these plants by the Brachmanes, also known as Brahmanas, Brahmans, or Brahmins, a sector of Hinduism. This was referenced by Rheede (1686: 33) as " Ticanto Brachmanes" and subsequently in the protologue of Ticanto ( Adanson 1763) as ' Ticanto . Bram. '. The name was without gender. The only combination to have been published in Ticanto is T. nuga (L.) Medik. (1786), the epithet of which derives from the description of the plants by Rumphius in his Herbarium Amboinense (1747) as "nugae Nugae silvarum ", or 'trifles [i.e., trivial plants] of the woods’. Linnaeus adopted this term in creating the epithet Guilandina nuga L. (1762), using it as a noun in apposition. The creation of Ticanto nuga (L.) Medik. therefore did not assign a gender to the genus name Ticanto , and in the absence of other species published under that name it remained ungendered. We hereby assign the feminine gender to the genus name Ticanto , thus avoiding changes to the species epithets and maintaining nomenclatural stability.

Genus description.

Scandent shrubs or lianas to 15 m. Stems usually with scattered, recurved prickles. Leaves pari-bipinnate, pinnae 1-16 opposite pairs, leaflets 2-15 opposite pairs, leaf rachis with recurved prickles at base of pinnae and usually scattered in between. Stipules 0.25-3 mm long. Leaflets elliptic to ovate or obovate, oblong or rhombic. Inflorescence a terminal or axillary raceme or panicle 7-42 cm long; pedicels articulated; bracts at base of racemes, caducous, bracteoles at base of pedicels, caducous. Flowers zygomorphic, with a hypanthium, calyx lobes 5, free, the lower lobe cucullate over the others in bud; petals 5, 3.5-12 × 2-7 mm, the median petal distinct from the others in shape, usually with an approximately circular patch of hairs on the inner surface, the lateral petals glabrous or with few hairs; stamens 10, free, 4-14 mm long, the basal half tomentose; ovary 1-2-ovuled, glabrous or hairy; style 4-12 mm long; stigma funnel-shaped and more or less papillate, or truncate. Fruit coriaceous or ligneous, dehiscent or indehiscent, elliptic, lunate, or sub-circular, 1.5-7 × 1.5-5 cm, apex acute or beaked, with or without a stipe, the upper suture with or without a narrow wing 0.5-4 mm wide, or a carinate wing 5-6 mm deep, 1(-2)-seeded.

Distribution.

Andaman Islands, Australia, Cambodia, China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hong Kong, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang), India, Indonesia, Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Malaysia, Mauritius, Micronesia, Myanmar, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Polynesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam (Maps 1 , 2 ).

Figures

Map 1. Distribution of all species (excluding T. crista).

Map 2. Distribution of T. crista.