Chamaecrista absus (L.) H.S. Irwin & Barneby, 1990

Jarvis, Charlie, 2007, Chapter 7: Linnaean Plant Names and their Types (part C), Order out of Chaos. Linnaean Plant Types and their Types, London: Linnaean Society of London in association with the Natural History Museum, pp. 370-473 : 391

Cassia absus Linnaeus , Species Plantarum 1: 376. 1753 .

"Habitat in India, Aegypto." RCN: 2958.

Lectotype (de Wit in Webbia 11: 280. 1956): Herb. Linn. No. 528.4 ( LINN) .

Current name: Chamaecrista absus (L.) H.S. Irwin & Barneby ( Fabaceae : Caesalpinioideae ).

Note: Fawcett & Rendle (Fl. Jamaica 4: 111. 1920) indicated that the type was in Herb. Hermann ( BM) but as the elements preserved there include both specimens and drawings, this is not an effective type choice. De Wit appears to have been the next to indicate a type, and chose material in LINN (as “holotype”). Although he was followed by some authors (e.g. Symon in Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Australia 90: 131. 1966), Ali (in Nasir & Ali, Fl. W. Pakistan 54: 20. 1973) indicated a Hermann collection (BM) as lectotype, and was followed by many authors. These include Irwin & Barneby (in Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 30: 281. 1978) who rejected de Wit’s choice on the grounds that Linnaeus’ account was based primarily on his Flora Zeylanica (1747) treatment. However, the collection in LINN does form part of the original material for the name, and de Wit’s choice has priority.