Sebastiania Sprengel (1821: 118)

Melo, André Laurênio De, Athiê-Souza, Sarah Maria & Sales, Margareth Ferreira De, 2017, A new combination and typifications in Sebastiania (Euphorbiaceae) from Mexico, Central America, and the Antilles, Phytotaxa 308 (1), pp. 118-124 : 119

Sebastiania Sprengel (1821: 118) .— Type: S. brasiliensis Spreng.

1. Sebastiania glandulosa (Sw.) Müller (1866: 1186) .— Excoecaria glandulosa Swartz (1800: 1124) .— Gymnanthes glandulosa (Sw.) Müller (1863: 106) .— Ateramnus glandulosus (Sw.) Adams (1970: 309) . Lectotype (designated here):— JAMAICA. Without local, without date (fl), O. Swartz s.n. (S-08-10524!).

Sebastiania adenophora Pax & Hoffmann (1912: 145) . Lectotype (designated here):— MEXICO. Yucatán: Silam, 1895 (fl) G. F. Gaumer 615 (holotype B?, destroyed; E-00042304!, isolectotypes A-00275048!, BR-0000008554949!, E-00042303!, E-00149966!, F-0093165!, G-00434159!, GH-00275049!, MICH-1104996!, NY-00273239!, PH-00023146!, S-07-17034 !, US-00096611 !).

Actinostemon jamaicensis Britton (1912: 7) .— Gymnanthes jamaicensis (Britton) Urban (1913: 516) . Lectotype (designated here):— JAMAICA. Thickets Grant’s Pen, near Yallah’s Bay, 26 May 1911 (fl), W. Harris 10936 (NY-00074529!, isolectotypes F-0092788!, MO-357439!, K-000601054!, NY-00074530!, NY-00074531!, PH-00050350!, U-0001863!, US-00096705!).

Distribution: — Belize, Guatemala, Jamaica, and Mexico (Campeche, Quintana Roo, Yucatán).

Note: — Swartz (1800) did not mention any herbarium where the type was deposited. In the herbarium of the Swedish Museum of Natural History (S) three specimens were supposedly identified as Excoecaria glandulosa by Swartz (S-13-19876, S-08-10525 and S-08-10524); however, S-13-19876 and S-08-10525 clearly do not belong to this genus and probably not even to Euphorbiaceae . Thus collection S-08-10524 was selected as lectotype. Sebastiania adenophora was proposed by Pax & Hoffmann (1912) based on Gaumer 615. Probably, the specimen used in the description of this species was deposited in the herbarium of Berlin (B), where Pax and Hoffmann worked. Currently, no specimens of this collection are available in B, presumably having been destroyed during World War II. Therefore it was necessary to lectotypify the species. The choice of the lectotype from Edinburgh (E) was based on the good conservation status of the specimen and the presence of two other duplicates in the same herbarium (E).

Actinostemon jamaicensis was established by Britton (1912), but the author did not mention the herbarium where the type collection (Harris 10936) was deposited. Nevertheless, since the author worked in the New York Botanical Garden herbarium (NY), it is probable that he based his description on one out of the three specimens of the collection deposited there. Specimen NY-00074529 was chosen as the lectotype for the present study since it is best conserved.

2. Sebastiania integra (Fawc. & Rendle) A.L. Melo & M.F. Sales , comb. nov. — Excoecaria glandulosa Grisebach (1859: 51) , nom. illeg., non Swartz (1800: 1124). — Gymnanthes integra Fawcett & Rendle (1920: 332) . — Ateramnus integer (Fawc. & Rendle) Rothmaler (1944: 5) . Lectotype (designated here):— JAMAICA. Dolphin Head, 1800 ft, 1850 (fr), R. C. Alexander 857 (K-000253569!). Remaining syntypes:— JAMAICA. Dolphin Head, 1800 ft, without date (fl), W. T. March 1459 (K-000253568!); without locality, O. Swartz s.n. (not traced).

Distribution: –– Jamaica.

Note: ––The first reference to Gymnanthes integra dates back to Fawcett & Rendle (1920) which was published as a nom. nov. based on an illegitimate name, previously described as Excoecaria glandulosa by Grisebach (1859). This decision is supported by article 6.11 of International Code of Nomenclature (ICN). The new combination Sebastiania integra is herein proposed based on Gymnanthes integra of Fawcett & Rendle (1920). Certain characteristics such as glandless leaves, base of mericarps entire, and seeds globoid and ecarunculate clearly place this species circumscription in Sebastiania and not in Gymnanthes , as accepted before. Gymnanthes differs from Sebastiania mainly for presenting leaves with glands, asymmetric flowers, distinctly pedicellate pistilate flowers, base of mericarps with a basal triangular split, and seeds generally ellipsoid or obovoid, mostly with a caruncle.

Since Grisebach (1859) based his description on three syntypes, in the present study it was necessary to choose a lectotype. Although the herbarium of the Universität Göttingen (GOET) is usually the main herbarium housing Grisebach’s collections, we have found types only deposited at K. The chosen collection was Alexander 857 (K 000253569) since it is best conserved.