Tarenna madagascariensis (Ten.) I.M. Turner

Turner, Ian M., 2022, An overlooked name provides the basionym for a new combination in Malagasy Tarenna (Rubiaceae), Candollea 77 (2), pp. 237-240 : 238

Tarenna madagascariensis (Ten.) I.M. Turner , comb. nov.

Pavetta madagascariensis Ten., Cat. Orto Bot. Napoli : 90. 1845.

Neotypus (designated here): [ MADAGASCAR]: cultivated in the Naples Botanical Garden , 14. VII.1850, Gussone s.n. ( NAP [ NAP0000515 ] image!) .

= Pavetta gracilis A. Rich. ex DC., Prodr. 4: 492. 1830. Ixora gracilis (A. Rich. ex DC.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 287. 1891. Enterospermum gracile (A. Rich. ex DC.) Bremek. in Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 37: 193. 1934. Tarenna richardii Verdc. in Kew Bull. 37: 561. 1983, nom nov. [non T. gracilis (Stapf) Keay, 1957 ], syn. nov. Neotypus (designated here): MADAGASCAR: “des côtes orient. de Madag.”, s.d., Richard 906 (P [P03919043] image!).

= Ixora grevei Drake in Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Paris 2: 1308. 1897. Tarenna grevei (Drake) Homolle in Bull. Soc. Bot. France 85: 606. 1939, syn. nov. Lectotypus (designated here): MADAGASCAR: sine loco, s.d., Grevé 261 (P [ P00173282 ] image!; isolecto-: P [ P00115297 , P00173281 , P00173283 , P03919323 ] images!, TAN [ TAN000755 ] image!).

Notes. – There is no specimen of Pavetta madagascariensis in Tenore’s herbarium in Naples (R. Vallariello, pers. comm.), but, there is a specimen ( Fig. 1 ) in the herbarium of Giovanni Gussone (1787–1811), a Neapolitan botanist contemporary of Tenore. The specimen accords well with Tenore’s description, with one notable exception. In the protologue, Tenore stated ‘calycibus 5-dentatis’ but the Gussone specimen has tetramerous flowers. As the specimen is a good match to Tarenna grevei and it is labelled with Tenore’s name in Gussone’s hand, I consider the discrepancy in the number of calyx lobes to be a lapse on Tenore’s part and accept Rippa’s interpretation of the name. The Gussone specimen [NAP0000515] is designated here as the neotype of Pavetta madagascariensis , and a new combination for this name is proposed in Tarenna .

Pavetta gracilis was described separately by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778– 1841) and by Achille Richard (1794–1852) in 1830 when they were both studying the family Rubiaceae . Candolle’s fourth volume of the Prodromus was published two months earlier than Richard’s Mémoire (see KIRKBRIDE & WIERSEMA, 2022). Among the 72 Rubiaceae names ascribed to Richard in the Prodromus , several were not associated to any specimen because Candolle copied Richard’s descriptions and no original material was available to him (KIRKBRIDE & WIERSEMA, 2022). A neotype is therefore designated here on the best material seen by Richard now deposited at P [P03919042].

The best preserved material of Grevé 261 is designated here as the lectotype of Ixora grevei .

Figures

Fig. 1.– Neotype of Pavetta madagascariensis Ten. in the herbarium of Giovanni Gussone. [NAP0000515; © Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II]