Drypetes alba latifolia Griseb., Nachr. Koenigl . Ges. Wiss. Georg-Augusts-Univ. 1: 165. 1865.

Levin, Geoffrey A., 2013, A synopsis of the New World species of Drypetes section Drypetes (Putranjivaceae) with asymmetrical fruits, including description of a new species, PhytoKeys 29, pp. 75-87 : 78-81

1b. Drypetes alba latifolia Griseb., Nachr. Koenigl. Ges. Wiss. Georg-Augusts-Univ. 1: 165. 1865.

Drypetes crocea Poit. var. latifolia (Griseb.) Müll. Arg., in A. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 456. 1866. Type: Based on Drypetes alba Poit. var. latifolia Griseb.

Drypetes latifolia (Griseb.) C.Wright, Anales Acad. Ci. Méd. Habana 7: 151. 1870. Type: Based on Drypetes alba Poit. var. latifolia Griseb.

Koelera ? serrata Maycock, Fl. Barbad. 38. 1830. Type: No specimens cited or located [according to Stafleu and Cowan (1981), Maycock probably made no herbarium; no type has ever been cited for this name].

Drypetes serrata (Maycock) Krug & Urb., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 15: 354. 1892. Type: Based on Koelera serrata Maycock.

Drypetes serrulata Pax & K.Hoffm. in H.G.A.Engler, Pflanzenr., IV, 147, XV: 267. 1922, nom. superfl. Type: Based on Koelera serrata Maycock.

Drypetes glomerata Griseb., Abh. Königl. Ges. Wiss. Göttingen 7: 75. 1857. Type: Guadeloupe.n.d., E. P. Duchassaing s.n. (holotype: GOET, photo plants.jstor.org/specimen/goet006390).

Drypetes glomerata Griseb. var. genuina Müll.Arg. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 454. 1866, nom. inval. Type: Based on Drypetes glomerata Griseb.

Drypetes incurva Müll. Arg., Linnaea 32: 82. 1863. Type: Cuba, prope Havana, 1833 (fr), R. de la Sagra 607 (lectotype, designated here: G-DC, duplicate: K).

Drypetes glomerata Griseb. var. olivacea Müll. Arg. in DC., Prodr. (DC.) 15(2): 454. 1866. Type: Cuba, 1860-1864, C. Wright 1929 (holotype: G-DC, isotypes: BM, F, GH, K, MO, NY).

Drypetes serrata (Maycock) Krug & Urb.var. olivacea ( Müll. Arg.) Krug & Urb., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 15: 355. 1892. Type: Based on Drypetes glomerata Griseb. var. olivacea Müll. Arg.

Type.

Cuba, occ., 1863 (fr), Wright 1927 (lectotype, designated here: GOET003380, photo plants.jstor.org/specimen/goet003380; duplicates: GH pro parte, K pro parte, MO pro parte, NY pro parte).

Distribution.

Cuba, Jamaica, and the Lesser Antilles (Antigua, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Barbados).

Ecology.

Forests on limestone and schist, from sea level to 1100 m.

Phenology.

Flowering October to March. Fruiting December to July.

Conservation status.

Least concern. Drypetes alba var. latifolia is widespread and probably secure in Cuba and Jamaica. Its status in the Lesser Antilles is difficult to assess because of a paucity of specimens.

Discussion.

The plants I include in Drypetes alba have been segregated into species or varieties in various ways since the middle of the 19th century ( Grisebach 1857; 1865; Howard 1989; León and Alain 1953; Müller 1863; 1866; Pax and Hoffmann 1922). Characters that have been used include those of the leaves (petiole length and blade color, shape, and degree of marginal serration), staminate flowers (size, pedicel length, and stamen exsertion), and pistillate flowers/fruits (pedicel length relative to fruit length, style presence/absence, and fruit size). Most of the distinctions were based on observations of the one or two specimens available to earlier workers and these disappear when more specimens are examined. For example, Grisebach (1857), Müller (1866), and León and Alain (1953) distinguished Drypetes alba (equivalent to var. alba is this treatment) from Drypetes glomerata or its synonym Drypetes serrata (here synonyms of var. latifolia) on the basis of the former having staminate flowers that are more than 1 mm long borne on longer pedicels and with exserted stamens in contrast to the latter having staminate flowers that are about 1 mm long borne on short pedicels and with included stamens. These differences appear to be an artifact of flower age: specimens with immature flowers, generally with the anthers indehiscent, were called Drypetes glomerata or Drypetes serrata , whereas those bearing fully mature flowers with dehiscent anthers were called Drypetes alba . Pax and Hoffmann (1922) separated the same taxa using petiole length: 5-8 mm for Drypetes alba vs. about 1 cm for Drypetes serrulata , the superfluous name they used for what Grisebach and Müller called Drypetes glomerata . In their concept, Drypetes serrulata is restricted to the Lesser Antilles whereas Drypetes alba is found throughout the Greater Antilles. Measurement of specimens shows that plants from the Lesser Antilles have slightly longer petioles (7-12 mm vs. 5-10 mm) than those from farther west, but clearly the variation is great and broadly overlapping. As I treat them, the two varieties have completely overlapping petiole lengths (6-10 mm long for var. alba vs. 5-12 mm for var. latifolia). Howard (1989) reported that Drypetes serrata , which he considered to be restricted to the Lesser Antilles, had larger fruits than Drypetes alba of the Greater Antilles, but he did not provide comparative measurements. Although mature fruits of Drypetes alba are rarely found on herbarium specimens, those I have seen are about 12-13 mm long throughout its range. Differences in leaf color, shape, and degree of marginal serration, alone or in combination, were used by Grisebach (1865) and Müller (1866) to describe new varieties based on single specimens, but these characters have been ignored by subsequent authors, presumably because they found, as I have, that these characters vary considerably even within individuals and certainly do not show consistent patterns.

The only character that seems consistently to differentiate Drypetes alba var. alba from var. latifolia is the presence of a style about 1 mm long in the former and its ab sence in the latter, the stigma being sessile. This character was first observed by Müller (1863) when he described Drypetes incurva having a sessile stigma; he later noted the same condition in Drypetes glomerata ( Müller, 1866). I have found that all specimens from an individual island show the same condition and I have seen no intermediate specimens. Although this character is consistent geographically, in the absence of additional differences it seems too minor to support more than a varietal distinction. The distribution of the varieties is curious, with var. latifolia found both east and west of var. alba. DNA sequence data might elucidate this interesting distribution and clarify the evolutionary history of Drypetes alba .

Grisebach (1865) based Drypetes alba var. latifolia on Wright 1927. It has long been recognized that this collection, like many of Wright’s Drypetes collections, is a mixture of two species, in this case Drypetes alba and Drypetes lateriflora ( Krug and Urban 1892; Pax and Hoffmann 1922). The material at GOET includes two sheets, both from the Grisebach Herbarium, and therefore presumably is the original material studied by Grisebach. These have the additional numbers 46 and 47 on the labels. The sheet labeled 46 (GOET 7917) consists of staminate and pistillate flowering branches of Drypetes lateriflora and the sheet labeled 47 (GOET 3380) consists of a fruiting specimen of Drypetes alba var. latifolia. Grisebach briefly described the leaves, staminate flowers, and fruits ( “drupa”), thus he must have considered both sheets to be his new variety. In deciding which material best matches the protologue, the staminate flowers argue for GOET 7917 ( Drypetes lateriflora )and the fruits argue for GOET 3380 ( Drypetes alba var. latifolia). However Grisebach described the leaves as being subentire. The leaves of Drypetes lateriflora on GOET 7917 are completely entire, whereas the leaves of Drypetes alba var. latifolia on GOET 3380 are very shallowly crenulate-serrulate. The latter sheet thus better matches the protologue of D. alba var. latifolia and therefore I designate it as the lectotype.

Müller (1863) based Drypetes incurva on two collections, de la Sagra 607 and Wright 593, pro parte [this collection number includes material of Drypetes incurva (= Drypetes alba var. latifolia) and Drypetes lateriflora ]. Later, Müller (1866) cited only de la Sagra 607 under Drypetes incurva , placing Wright 593 under Drypetes crocea Poit., a synonym of Drypetes lateriflora . Based on the protologue of Drypetes incurva , either sheet at G-DC could be chosen as the lectotype, but because it is not a mixed collection and therefore minimizes the potential for confusion, I designate de la Sagra 607 as the lectotype.

Selected specimens examined.

CUBA. Camagüey: Banao, 300-500 m, Nov 1975 (♂ fl), Alvarez et al. 28778 (HAJB). Guantánamo: San Antonia del Sur, Puriales de Caujeri, Sierra de Purial cerca de Arroyo, 800 m, 30 May 1982 (fr), Bisse et al. 47259 (HAJB). Holguín: Sierra de Nipe, prope Río Piloto, 350 m, 16 Dec 1915 (♂ fl), Ekman 6694 (F, K, NY, U, US). Isla de la Juventud: Caleta Cocodrilos, 8 Mar 1916 (fr), Britton et al. 15305 (CM, F, NY, US). Matanzas: Cienega, Peninsula de Zapata, montes al norte de Sto. Tomás, 19 Apr 1977 (fr), Bisse et al. 34469 (HAJB). Pinar del Río: La Guásima, Rangel, Jan 1950 (♀ fl), Liogier 1261 (GH, US). Sancti Spíritus: Trinidad Mountains, Arroyo Grande, 650-750 m, 11-12 Mar 1910 (fr), Britton &Wilson 5459 (F, NY). Santiago de Cuba: Bayate, 20 Feb 1917 (fr), Ekman 8544 (F, K, LL, NY, U, US).

Jamaica. Trelawny: Boothe district, ca. 3 mi. north of Troy, 1600 m, 14 Mar 1955 (♀ fl, fr), Proctor 9956 (NY, US).

Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua: environs de St. Jean, Dec 1902 (♂ fl), Duss 80 (NY).

Guadeloupe. Marie-Galante, bois de Folle-Anse, 1896 (fr), Duss 3628 (F, MO pro parte, NY, US pro parte).

Martinique. Morne Saint-Martin, pied de la montagne Pelée, 1878 (♂ fl), Duss 50 (NY).