Lectotypification of five names in Primula (Primulaceae)

KEW BULLETIN (2018) 73:29 DOI 10.1007/S12225-018-9750-9

ISSN: 0075-5974 (print) ISSN: 1874-933X (electronic)

Lectotypification of five names in Primula (Primulaceae) Amal Bawri1, Padma Raj Gajurel2 & Mohammed Latif Khan3

Summary. The typification of five names of Primula species (Primulaceae) is discussed. The designation of the nomenclatural type is based on assessments of the original materials and the literature cited in the protologues. Lectotypes of four names, Primula calderiana, P. lacerata, P. polonensis and P. prenantha are selected from specimens at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (E) while for P. dickieana, the lectotype is selected from specimens at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K). Key Words. Nomenclature, protologue, syntype, typification.

Introduction The genus Primula L. (Primulaceae) comprises c. 430 species distributed in temperate and cold regions of Asia and Europe and in tropical montane regions of the northern hemisphere (Richards 2003). The Indian eastern Himalayan region, including the adjacent part of China and Bhutan, is the centre of species diversity for Asian Primula, where c. 79 species are distributed (Bawri 2016). During taxonomic studies of eastern Himalayan Primula, the need for the lectotypification of five names of Primula species was realised. Accordingly, after critical examination of type specimens at BM, CAL, E, GH, K, LINN, NY, P, and US, online databases and protologues, the lectotypes of five names are proposed in accordance with the provisions of Articles 9.2, 9.11 & 9.12 of the International Code for Nomenclature (ICN, McNeill et al. 2012). Lectotypes of P. calderiana Balf. f. & R. E. Cooper, P. lacerata W. W. Sm., P. polonensis Kingdon-Ward and P. prenantha Balf. f. & W. W. Sm. are selected from specimens at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (E) and the lectotype of P. dickieana G. Watt is selected from specimens at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K). Details of syntypes and duplicate specimens for each taxon, together with explanatory notes, are included.

Lectotypification Primula calderiana Balf. f. & R. E. Cooper (Balfour 1915: 7). Type: India, Sikkim, above Changu, 28 June 1913, R. E. Cooper 20 (lectotype E! [E00024678], selected here; isolectotype US! [US2975460]).

NOTES. Balfour (1915) described this species based on Cooper 20 and Smith 3285 but did not designate either specimen as the type in the protologue. During our investigation of available specimens in different herbaria, two duplicate specimens of Cooper 20 were found, one in E [E00024678] and one in US [US2975460]. Smith & Fletcher (1944) cited the specimen in E as the type. However, we found that both the E and US specimens are marked as types. The one deposited in E is a better representative of Primula calderiana and agrees with the protologue. Hence this specimen is selected here as the lectotype.

Primula dickieana G. Watt (1882: 9). Type: India, Sikkim, Lachen, June 1849, J. D. Hooker s.n. (lectotype K!-left-hand specimen [K000750104], selected here; isolectotypes E! [E00024377], GH [00073573], K!-2 sheets, 4 specimens [K000750100, K000750101, K000750102, K000750103], P! [P04571976]). NOTES. This species was first collected by J. D. Hooker in 1848 from the Lachen Valley, Sikkim but it was not described until 1882 (Watt 1882), and the 1848 material was unavailable to the author (Smith & Fletcher 1942). Instead, Watt (1882) described the species based on a Hooker specimen collected in 1849. Watt simply mentioned the collector’s name and locality as “Lachen, on open banks, alt. 10 – 13,000 ft. J. D. Hooker.” He did not cite a collection number and did not indicate any specimen as the type.

Accepted for publication 16 May 2018. 1 Department of Botany, Gauhati University, Jalukbari, 781014, Guwahati, Assam, India. e-mail: [email protected] 2 Department of Forestry, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (Deemed–to–be–University), Nirjuli, 791109, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, India. 3 Department of Botany, Dr Harisingh Gour Central University, Sagar, 470003, Madhya Pradesh, India.

© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2018

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Smith & Fletcher (1942) also described the species and cited several Hooker specimens available at K [K000750100, K000750101, K000750102, K000750103 and K000750104] as type, with a co-type at E [E00024377]. From examination of specimens available in different herbaria, it was found that there are eight duplicates of the Hooker specimens available: five at K (on two sheets) and three at E, GH and P respectively. Although Smith & Fletcher (1942) indicated the material at K as being the type, they did not specify a particular sheet. All the sheets in K are marked as types, and thus one of them needs to be selected as the lectotype. The left-hand specimen on one of the sheets in K [K000750104] is found to be the best representative of the species, hence it is selected here.

Primula lacerata W. W. Sm. (in Smith & Forrest 1923: 45). Type: Myanmar (Burma), North-West Frontier region, between Shingrup Chet and Akhyang, 15 April 1920, R. Farrer 1512 (lectotype E! [E00024668], selected here; isolectotypes E! [E00024669], K! [K00750133!], P! [P04544376]. NOTES. Based on collections of R. Farrer from the NorthWest Frontier region of Myanmar (Burma) on 15 April 1920, Smith & Forrest (1923) described this species but without specifying any specimen as type. Smith & Fletcher (1944) also described the species and mentioned that the type was in E. However, it was found that there are four duplicate specimens of R. Farrer 1512, with two specimens in E [E00024668, E00024669] and one specimen each in K [K000750133] and P [P04544376]. Among the two specimens in E, one of them [E00024668] is considered to be a complete representative of P. lacerata and hence it is selected here as the lectotype.

Primula polonensis Kingdon-Ward (1930: 124 – 125). Type: India, Arunachal Pradesh, Delei Valley, 29 June 1928, F. K. Ward 8388 (lectotype E! [E00024403], selected here; isolectotypes K!-2 sheets [K000750410, K000750411]. NOTES. Kingdon-Ward (1930) described this species based on his own collections from the Delei Valley area of Arunachal Pradesh on 29 June 1928, citing the collection number 8388 in the protologue. We traced three duplicate specimens (three sheets). One sheet is in E [E00024403], which is marked as co-type by W. W. Smith and the other two sheets are in K [K000750410; K000750411], which are also marked as types. Again, Smith & Fletcher (1941: 165), in their enumeration of Primula, sect. Candelabra, cited the specimen in E


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[E00024403] as co-type and mentioned that type material was also available at BM. However, we could not trace any specimen at BM. Careful observation also revealed that the three sheets have more than one plant specimen on each sheet and one of the K sheets [K000750410] is a mixture of two different taxa. As the specimen in E [E00024403] is complete and more suited with the protologue, it is selected here as the lectotype.

Primula prenantha Balf. f. & W. W. Sm. (Balfour 1916: 191). Type: India, Sikkim, Jongri, June 1888, King’s collector s.n. (lectotype E! [E00259793], selected here; isolectotype E! [E00259794]. NOTES. The species was described by Balfour (1916: 191) based on several specimens: Cave 108 [CAL00000017329], Gammie 208 [E00259795] and King’s Collector s.n. [E00259793, E00259794]. In the protologue, Balfour (1916: 191) cited all these specimens but did not specify any as type. King’s collector s.n. [E00259793] is found to be a better representative for the type and hence it is selected here as the lectotype.

Acknowledgements We are grateful to the curators of the herbaria mentioned and Ranee Prakash (Natural History Museum, London, BM) for her help in providing information about type specimens deposited in BM. The authors wish to thank the reviewers for the valuable suggestions. The first author is grateful to the Director, Botanical Survey of India (BSI), for permission to consult herbarium specimens within BSI herbaria.

References Balfour, B. (1915). New species of Primula. Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 9(41): 1 – 70. ____ (1916). New species of Primula. Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 9(43): 145 – 206. Bawri, A. (2016). Diversity and population structure of a few selected species of Primula L. in Arunachal Pradesh. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (Deemed University), Arunachal Pradesh. Kingdon-Ward, F. (1930). The distribution of primulas from the Himalaya to China, with descriptions of some new species. Ann. Bot. (Oxford) 44(1): 111 – 125. McNeill, J., Barrie, F. R., Buck, W. R., Demoulin, V., Greuter, W., Hawksworth, D. L., Herendeen, P. S., Knapp, S., Marhold, K., Prado, J., Prud’homme van Reine, W. F., Smith, G. F., Wiersema, J. H. & Turland, N. J. (eds) (2012). International Code of Nomenclature for Algae,

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Fungi, and Plants (Melbourne Code), Adopted by the Eighteenth International Botanical Congress Melbourne, Australia, July 2011. Regnum Veg. 154. Koeltz Scientific Books, Königstein (http://www.iapttaxon.org/nomen/main.php). Richards, J. (2003). Primula. New edition. B. T. Batsford, London. Smith, W. W. & Fletcher, H. R. (1941). The genus Primula: section Candelabra. Trans. & Proc. Bot. Soc. Edinburgh 33: 122 – 181.

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____ & ____ (1942). The genus Primula: section Amethystina, Minutissima, Bella, Muscarioides. Trans. & Proc. Bot. Soc. Edinburgh 33: 209 – 294. ____ & ____ (1944). The genus Primula: section Petiolares. Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh 61: 271 – 314. ____ & Forrest, G. (1923). New Primulaceae. Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 14: 31 – 56. Watt, G. (1882). Some undescribed and imperfectly known Indian species of Primula and Androsace. J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 20(123 – 124): 1 – 18.
