Anthyllis vulneraria

Iamonico, Duilio, Domina, Gianniantonio, Guarino, Riccardo & Guacchio, Emanuele Del, 2021, Nomenclatural notes on Fabaceae described from Sicily, Phytotaxa 490 (2), pp. 211-219 : 212

Vulneraria heterophylla var. albiflora

In publishing this name, Gussone (1843 –1844: 265) reported a short diagnosis (“caule foliusque ut in a. [i.e. “ Vulneraria heterophylla var. rubriflora ”], vel ut in b. [i.e. Vulneraria heterophylla var. hirsutissima Guss. ”], calycibus albidoviridentibus, corollis albis”), and cited a synonym from Cupani (1696: 19, “ Anthyllis leguminosa, flore albo”). Cupani (1696), however, reported a polynomial by Bauhin (1623: 333). None of these authors published an illustration useful for lectotypification purposes. Gussone (1843 –1844) rather reported a vague distribution for Vulneraria heterophylla s.lat., i.e. “In apricis montosis ubiqui in Sicilia ”.

Note that the epithet albiflora had been already employed within the same species, but in a different combination, i.e. Anthyllis vulneraria var. albiflora Candolle (1825: 170) , not cited by Gussone. Therefore, V. heterophylla var. albiflora is validly published.

We traced at NAP [Collection “Gussone-Sicilia”] seven sheets in the folder of V. heterophylla var. albiflora , collected in several Sicilian mountain localities: Rocca Busambra, Polizzi Generosa, Mounts of Cammarata, Ficuzza. Only one of them bear a label handwritten by Gussone and including the exact name of the variety, i.e., the one originated from Polizzi [Generosa]. Indeed, this latter specimen bears a “representative label” (cf. Santangelo et al. 2017): “ Vulneraria heterophylla var. albiflora | Majo Junio | In apricis montosis”. Another label reports “ Anthyllis vulneraria fl. albido | Fl. Aprili Majo | In pratis montosis elatioribus”. However, the original label (“field label”) reports “Giugno | Polizzi”. Unfortunately, the collection date is lacking and, generally, we apparently cannot be sure that this collection was made before 1843. However, if the biographic data in Pasquale (1876) and Trotter (1948) are interpolated (see Erben et al. 2018), we can conclude that this specimen was collected (in June) before 1843 and that it is original material. The exsiccatum is represented by a complete plant, with root, leaves and flowers, these latter white (see the note on the label), as reported in the diagnosis ( Gussone 1843 –1844). Morphologically, it is very similar to those collected on Rocca Busambra by Gussone, well serving to establish the synonymy with A. busambarensis (see below).