Erythrina fusca Lour., Fl. Cochinch. 2: 427. 1790, based on " Gelala Aquatica" Rumph., Herb. Amboin. 2: 235. 1741.

Guedes-Oliveira, Ramon, Fortuna-Perez, Ana Paula, Pederneiras, Leandro Cardoso & Mansano, Vidal de Freitas, 2023, Erythrina L. (Phaseoleae, Papilionoideae, Leguminosae) of Brazil: an updated nomenclatural treatment with notes on etymology and vernacular names, PhytoKeys 232, pp. 1-43 : 1

4. Erythrina fusca Lour., Fl. Cochinch. 2: 427. 1790, based on " Gelala Aquatica" Rumph., Herb. Amboin. 2: 235. 1741.

Fig. 4

≡ Corallodendron fuscum (Lour.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 172. 1891.

= Erythrina glauca Willd., Neue Schriften Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin 3: 428. 1801. Type: Venezuela. Caracas: s.loc., s.d., Hoffmannsegg s.n. (lectotype, designated here: B [B-W13101-010]). (1)

≡ Duchassaingia glauca (Willd.) Walp., in Duchassaing and Walpers, Linnaea 23(=7): 742. 1851.

≡ Corallodendron glaucum (Willd.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 172. 1891.

= Erythrina ovalifolia Roxb., Hort. Bengal.: 53. 1814, nom. nud.; Fl. Ind. 3: 254. 1832. Type: India. West Bengal: a scarce tree about Calcutta, s.d., s.leg., s.n. (lectotype, designated here: illustration in Wight 1839, tab. 247). (2)

≡ Duchassaingia ovalifolia (Roxb.) Walp., in Duchassaing and Walpers, Linnaea 23(=7): 742. 1851.

= Erythrina patens Moc. & Sessé ex DC., Prodr. 2: 414. 1825; A.DC., Calques Fl. Mexique 2: tab. 255. 1874. Type: [the Caribbean?]. s.loc., s.d., Sessé et al. 3693 (lectotype, designated by Krukoff and Barneby 1974, pg. 340 [first-step]; and here [second-step]: MA [MA601534]; isolectotypes: MA [MA601535, MA601536]). (3)

≡ Corallodendron patens (Moc. & Sessé ex DC.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 173. 1891.

= Erythrina caffra Blanco, Fl. Filip. 2: 394. 1845, nom. superf. et illeg., non Thunb., Prodr. Fl. Cap. 2: 121. 1800. Type: Philippines. s.loc., s.d., s.leg., s.n. (lectotype, designated by Martins and Tozzi 2018, pg. 399: illustration in Blanco et al. [1883?], tab. [526?]). (4)

= Erythrina ovalifolia Roxb. var. inermis Pulle, Nova Guinea 8(2): 651. 1912. Type: Indonesia. Western New Guinea: "am Noord-Fluss in einem verlassenem Dorfe", 4 September 1909, Römer 28 (holotype: L [L 0018975, sheet I; L 0018976, sheet II]). syn. nov. (5)

= Erythrina fusca Lour. var. inermis Rock, Legum. Pl. Hawaii: 188. 1920. Type: U.S.A. Hawaii, Honolulu: in cultivation on Anapuni Street, s.d., s.leg., s.n. (lectotype, designated here: illustration in Rock 1920, tab. 77). (6)

Type material.

Indonesia. "In Amboina raro occurrit. Arborescens in Lariqua & Hitoe, longa vero ſeu fruteſcens juxta ripas fluminis Elephantis, ubique non longe a mari. Magna vero copia reperitur in Java, Baleya, Borneo & Sumatra, uti & modicum in Ceramæ ora Orientali", s.d., s.leg., s.n. (lectotype, designated by Martins and Tozzi 2018, pg. 399: illustration in Rumphius 1741, tab. 78).

Notes.

Rumphius (1741) published descriptions and illustrations of three species from Ambon Island (Indonesia) that he called " Gelala ", before Linnaeus’ binomial system. Then, Loureiro (1790) published E. fusca from Vietnam mentioning the name " Gelala Aquatica " as a synonym, and Rumphius’ illustration was correctly designated by Martins and Tozzi (2018) as the lectotype of the name (Fig. 4 ). Kuntze (1891) published Corallodendron mentioning E. fusca as a synonym of C. fuscum , but the genus was later synonymized under Erythrina in Engler and Prantl (1894).

(1) Willdenow (1801) published E. glauca from Caracas (Venezuela), but did not mention any type specimen. A collection from Caracas labeled as E. glauca was found in Willdenow’s type specimens’ section in herbarium B with the same description given by him, and it was thus designated here as the lectotype. The name has been considered a synonym of E. fusca since Krukoff and Barneby (1974). Walpers (1851, not 1850) published Duchassaingia mentioning E. glauca as a synonym of D. glauca , but the genus was later synonymized under Erythrina in Engler and Prantl (1894). Kuntze (1891) published Corallodendron , mentioning E. glauca as a synonym of C. glaucum , but the genus was also synonymized into Erythrina in Engler and Prantl (1894). Additional material: F (neg. 2372, photo of B-W13101-010), IAN (IAN001757, photo of F neg. 2372).

(2) Roxburgh (1814) mentioned E. ovalifolia from India, but did not describe the species, so this name was first considered a nomen nudum. However, he fully described the species in Flora Indica ( Roxburgh 1832), although no type specimen was assigned. Wight (1839, not 1840) published a redrawing of Roxburgh’s unpublished plates of species described in 1832, and his illustration for E. ovalifolia was designated here as the lectotype. The name has been considered a synonym of E. fusca since Krukoff and Barneby (1974). Walpers (1851, not 1850) published Duchassaingia mentioning E. ovalifolia as a synonym of D. ovalifolia , but the genus was later synonymized under Erythrina in Engler and Prantl (1894).

(3) De Candolle (1825) published E. patens based on a plate made by Sessé and Mociño for the Flora Mexicana, later published by Alph. De Candolle ( De Candolle 1874). As stated by Krukoff and Barneby (1974), the species does not occur in Mexico and must have been collected somewhere in the Caribbean. The authors mentioned a collection by Sessé, Mociño, Castillo and Maldonado as the type, but did not mention any herbaria. Three exsiccatae of this collection were found in herbarium MA and one of them was designated here as the lectotype, in a second-step lectotypification. Kuntze (1891) published Corallodendron mentioning E. patens as a synonym of C. patens , but the genus was later synonymized under Erythrina in Engler and Prantl (1894).

(4) Blanco’s description ( Blanco 1845) of E. caffra from the Philippines matches E. fusca , but as the name was already validly published by Thunberg (1800), Blanco’s publication was considered illegitimate. Martins and Tozzi (2018) correctly designated his illustration in Flora de Filipinas 3rd edn. (Blanco et al. 1883?) as the lectotype, but according to TL-2 ( Stafleu 1976), both its publication date and plate number remain doubtful.

(5) Pulle (1912) published the variety E. ovalifolia var. inermis from Indonesia based only on the absence of spines, a character with well-documented morphological plasticity in Erythrina species (Guedes-Oliveira et al. manuscript in preparation). The exsiccatae found in herbarium L undoubtedly place the name as a synonym of E. fusca . The variety was already synonymized in Krukoff and Barneby (1974), but as the authors mistakenly cited it as " E. fusca Lour. var inermis ", the correct name is designated here as a new synonym.

(6) Rock (1920) published the variety E. fusca var. inermis from a specimen being cultivated in Hawaii after seeds brought from Manila (the Philippines), based only on the absence of spines, which is a character with well-documented morphological plasticity in Erythrina species (Guedes-Oliveira et al. manuscript in preparation). His photograph was designated here as the lectotype of the name, which has been considered a synonym since Krukoff and Barneby (1974).

Etymology.

The specific epithet " Erythrina fusca " is derived from Latin, meaning “dark” or “dusky”, and it was presumably chosen due to the dark-orange color of the petals in some individuals, described as " fuſco-ruber " in the protologue of the species. It is important to point out that the color of the petals varies a lot in this species, from shades of light-yellow to dark-orange and even vinaceous-red (Guedes-Oliveira et al. manuscript in preparation).

Vernacular names.

According to herbaria labels, E. fusca is generally known in Brazil as “mulungu”, and also as “alecrim” in the state of Acre; “açacurana” (and spelling variations) or "assacu branco" in Amazonas; “assacurana” (and spelling variations) in Amapá; “eritrina-da-baixa” or “sumaúma” in Bahia; “abobinha” or “flor-de-aboboreira” in Mato Grosso; “abobreiro” in Mato Grosso do Sul; “assacuhy”, “parica” or "pau angico" in Pará; and “assacurana” in Rio de Janeiro.

Figures

Figure 4. Lectotype of Erythrina fusca Lour. (1790: 427), designated by Martins and Tozzi (2018: 399). Source: Missouri Botanical Garden - Peter H. Raven Library via Biodiversity Heritage Library, available at https: // www. biodiversitylibrary. org / page / 187502.