Dioscorea psilostachya (Uline ex R.Knuth) Raz, 2016

Raz, Lauren, 2016, Untangling the West Indian Dioscoreaceae: New combinations, lectotypification and synonymy, Phytotaxa 258 (1), pp. 26-48 : 36-37

13. Dioscorea psilostachya (Uline ex R.Knuth) Raz , comb. nov. Helmia psilostachya Kunth (1850: 429) . Rajania psilostachya (Kunth) Uline ex Knuth (1917: 219) . Type:— CUBA. In sylvis Cubae interioris, no date, Poeppig. s.n. ♂ (holotype KIEL!, isotypes JE!, MO!, PRC!)

Dioscorea ekmanii Knuth (1917: 191) . Type:— CUBA. Havana: Tapaste, Lomas de la Jaula, Callejón del Matador, 11 June 1914, Ekman 1336 ♂ (holotype S!. isotypes B!, NY!, phototype GH!). The holotype was explicitly designated by Knuth in 1924.

Rajania cordata var. microcarpa Uline ex Knuth (1917: 219) . Among the syntypes cited by Knuth is Wilson and León 11551 ♀ (K!, NY!, US!) from western Havana province. The lectotype and remaining syntypes are referred to D. cordata (see above).

Rajania cordata auct non L. in Richard (1850: 269). Richard cited a collection by J. M. Valenzuela (s.n.) made “near Havana ”. “ R. cordata Rich. ” is cited in Knuth (1917, 1924), as a synonym of R. psilostachya , based on a Valenzuela (♀) specimen. See D. confusa .

Rajania hastata L. auct non Grisebach (1866: 251). Grisebach provided no description but cited the following specimens: CUBA. Matanzas, July 1849, Rugel 392 ♂ (NY!, BM!, FLAS!, GH!); Wright 1712 (elements corresponding to D. psilostachya : BM “1C”!, GH “2B”!, NY “3”!, US “1B”!, US “2B”!; there is also likely to be a duplicate at GOET, but I’ve not seen it). While it cannot be determined with certainty which of the Wright 1712 duplicates were seen by Grisebach, the accompanying citation of Rugel 392 dispels the ambiguity about the interpretation of his R. hastata . “ R. hastata Griseb. ” is also cited in Knuth (1917, 1924) as a synonym of R. psilostachya (and R. wrightii : the latter interpretation no doubt based on the mixed Wright 1712 collections; see D. confusa ).

Notes: Endemic to NW Cuba. This species was first described in 1850 as Helmia psilostachya , based on a Poeppig collection cited by Kunth as “ Smilax aristolochiifolia Poepp. en herb. Luc.” The abbreviation “herb. Luc.” refers to the private collection of A.F. Lucae, deposited in KIEL ( Wilkin & Muasya 2015). See also D. cephalocarpa for elaboration on the Wright 1712 problem.