Croton vaughanii Croizat, Trop. Woods 77: 14. 1944

Berry, Paul E., Kainulainen, Kent & Ee, Benjamin W. van, 2017, A Nomenclator of Croton (Euphorbiaceae) in Madagascar, the Comoros Archipelago, and the Mascarene Islands, PhytoKeys 90, pp. 1-87 : 61-62

123. Croton vaughanii Croizat, Trop. Woods 77: 14. 1944

Type.

Mauritius. Perrier , near the Mare aux Vacoas, 500 m, 12 May 1938, R.E. Vaughan MAU accession number 863 (holotype: A [A00047560]; isotype: WIS [WIS00000605MAD]) . Mauritius. [in flower] 14 Feb 1934, R.E. Vaughan MAU accession number 863 (paratype: K [K000422600]!) . Mauritius. [in fruit] 1 Apr 1934, R.E. Vaughan MAU accession number 863 (paratype: K [K000422600]!), MAU, MAU ).

Habit and distribution.

Shrubs; Mauritius.

Notes.

Croizat (1944) referenced collector information for characteristics of C. vaughanii that are not observable on the holotype at A (" fide collectoris "), and the holotype is accompanied by a copy of field notes referencing that the species drops its leaves in November and December, and that flowering takes place immediately afterward. According to information in the Mauritius Herbarium (MAU) database, in this case “863” is the accession number rather than the collection number. Given this, the sheets at K and MAU with the accession number 863 are not a part of the same gathering as the holotype at A and therefore are not syntypes. Even though Croizat (1944) did not explicitly refer to the " Vaughan 863 " collections at K and MAU, we interpret them as being paratypes. Furthermore, the sheet at K labeled with the barcode K000422600 represents material from two gatherings on different dates and should be considered two distinct specimens.

Croton vaughanii is listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered ( Strahm 1998), and is known from only a single individual according to information on the label of Haevermans et al. 558 (P [P00696110]), making it one of the rarest of all Croton species.