Boerhavia triquetra S. Watson (1889: 69) var. triquetra

Sandoval-Ortega, Manuel Higinio & Sánchez-Escalante, José Jesús, 2022, The family Nyctaginaceae (Caryophyllales) in Sonora, Mexico, Phytotaxa 575 (1), pp. 35-56 : 45-46

4.12. Boerhavia triquetra S. Watson (1889: 69) var. triquetra .

Lectotype (designated here):― MEXICO, Baja California, Sandy plains and stony ridges near los Angeles Bay, Gulf of California, 1887, Palmer 521 (US00102975 [image!] image available at http://n 2t.net/ark:/65665/39b31f871-7612-4300-a1c0-2405a9dfd829; isolectotypes: US 00102973 [image!] image available at http://n 2t.net/ark:/65665/3c1acc177-5537-47c8-8c0e-b08729f22494, US00102974 [image!] image available at http://n 2t.net/ark:/65665/340a094d9-bf81-4e9f-8ca2-1eb6a630f32d, K000572644 [image!] image available at http://specimens.kew.org/herbarium/ K000572644 , NDG 15712 [image!] image available at https://plants.jstor.org/ stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.ndg15712).

Typification of the name Boerhavia triquetra :― Watson (1889: 69) mentioned a locality (“Sandy plains and stony ridges near Los Angeles Bay”, Gulf of California, Baja California, Mexico) and a collector/number of collection (Palmer 521; sintype according to the Art. 9.6 of ICN). We found five duplicates of Palmer’s specimen at US (3), K (1), and NDG (1). US 00102975 is here designated as lectotype; it matches Watson’s protologue and corresponds to the currect concept in Boerhavia (see e.g., Jepson Flora Project 2022, Spellenberg 2003).

Note on Boerhavia intermedia Jones (1902: 41) : ― Spellenberg (2007) recognized Boerhavia intermedia at variety rank of B. triquetra [ B. triquetra var. intermedia (M.E. Jones) Spellenberg (2007: 874) ]. In Sonora, B. triquetra var. intermedia is more common than B. triquetra var. triquetra , the latter having been collected only in Isla Tiburón, Isla San Esteban, and Kino bay. The identity of the names B. maculata and B. lateriflora must be reviewed ( Spellenberg 2007), these were proposed based on specimens collected in Guaymas, Sonora, that have similar morphological characteristics such as being annual herbs, pink to white flowers and winged fruits ( Standley 1909, 1911, Watson 1889).

Distribution in Mexico: ― Boerhavia triquetra is reported from Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Jalisco, Morelos, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas ( Spellenberg 2007, Villaseñor 2016). In Sonora it is distributed in Sonoran biogeographic province ( Fig. 4B ), and has been collected in Agua Prieta, Arizpe, Benjamín Hill, Empalme, Guaymas, Hermosillo, Huatabampo, Moctezuma, Navojoa and Soyopa municipalities including insular territory (Isla Tiburón, Isla Turners, Isla San Esteban and Isla San Pedro Nolasco), in xerophytic scrub, grasslands and open Oak Forest, especially in open sandy areas and road sides, at 0–100 m a.s.l.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Distribution of the Nyctaginaceae genera in the State of Sonora. A: genera Abronia, Allionia, Acleisanthes, Okenia, and Pisonia; B: genus Boerhavia; C: genus Mirabilis; D: genera Boldoa, Commicarpus, Cyphomeris, and Salpianthus.