Syzygium jambos (Linnaeus) Alston (1931: 115)

Singh, Rajeev Kumar & Arigela, Ravi Kiran, 2020, Lectotypifications and new synonyms in Indian Syzygium (Myrtaceae), Phytotaxa 429 (3), pp. 200-216 : 210

6. Syzygium jambos (Linnaeus) Alston (1931: 115) . = Eugenia jambos Linnaeus (1753: 470) . Lectotype (first-step designated by Fawcett & Rendle 1926: 352):— SRI LANKA. Paul Hermann 2: 20 (BM, two specimens); second-step designated here:— SRI LANKA. Without locality, s.d., Paul Hermann 2: 20, No. 188 (BM000621576!). Remaining syntype:— SRI LANKA. Without locality, s.d., Paul Hermann 2: 20, No. 188 (BM000621575!).

Distribution:—Southeast China, South Asia and Southeast Asia. In India naturally found in Northeast Indian states, cultivated in other parts of India and also found as an escape in forests.

Notes:—The protologue of Eugenia jambos ( Figure 4 ) consists of a short diagnosis, citation of his earlier work Flora Zeylanica (1747) and three synonyms cited from Bauhin (1623), Rheede (1678) and Ray (1688). The provenance was also provided as “Habitat in India ”. The illustration of Rheede (1678: tab. 17) is original material for the name E. jambos . In the Hermann herbarium at BM there are two specimens [Paul Hermann 2: 20, No. 188 (BM000621575, BM000621576)] that were studied by Linnaeus for his Flora Zeylanica, number 176 (1747) and can serves as types for Linnaean name E. jambos . Fawcett & Rendle (1926) referring to the type of E. jambos wrote “Type in Herb. Hermann ii: 20 in Herb. Mus. Brit.” and their type citation must be accepted as the first-step lectotypification because it cannot be ascertained which of the specimens at BM was selected by him as lectotype. Therefore, from the two specimens of Paul Hermann at BM, the better preserve specimen BM000621576, is designated here as the second-step lectotype of the name E. jambos . This specimen contain a small branchlet with well develop leaves and terminal inflorescence, and agrees well with the short diagnosis given by Linnaeus as “foliis integerrimis, pedunculis ramosis terminalibus”.

Earlier the herbarium sheet Paul Hermann 2: 20 holds old barcode number BM000594583 and contains three type specimens, one of Averrhoa bilimbi Linnaeus (1753: 428) and two of Eugenia jambos Linnaeus (1753: 470) . Later, three new barcode numbers dispensed to these three specimens [(BM000621575 and BM000621576 for Eugenia jambos ) and (BM000621574 for Averrhoa bilimbi )]. Verdcourt in April 1998 for his Flora of Tropical East Africa – Myrtaceae (2001) annotated the sheet with old barcode number BM000594583 as the lectotype for the name Eugenia jambos and given authority for lectotype designation to Fawcett & Rendle (1926), but he did not specify which specimen of the herbarium sheet BM000594583 is the lectotype. Furthermore, Verdcourt (2001) not followed Articles 7.11 and 9.17 of ICN ( Turland et al. 2018) and so, he did not done effective second-step lectotypification also.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Protologue of Eugenia jambos Linnaeus.