Evolvulus ovatus Fernald. (1898: 33)

Santos, Diego, Silva, Marcos José Da & Buril, Maria Teresa, 2023, Typifications and three new synonymies in Evolvulus L. (Convolvulaceae-Cressae), Phytotaxa 583 (1), pp. 1-14 : 12

4. Evolvulus ovatus Fernald. (1898: 33) .

Lectotype (designated here):— MEXICO. “ Acapulco, on a shady hillside”, 1894, Edward Palmer 313 (lectotype US00111220 [digital image!], isolectotype, F0054777F [digital image!], GH00054424 [digital image!], K000613105 [digital image!])

Notes: —When Merritt Lyndon Fernald (1898) described E. ovatus , he mentioned the collection of Edward Palmer 313 without indicating the herbarium where it was housed. We located four specimens from this collection in herbaria F, GH, K and US. We chose the specimen deposited in the US ( US 00111220; Fig. 9 ) as the lectotype because it has more preserved vegetative and reproductive characters, and for being in the herbarium where Edward Palmer deposited his main type collections.

Morphological relationships and characterization: —This species is easily identified by the stems decumbent to erect, leaves ovate or elliptical, corolla up to 5 mm diameter. It is morphologically similar to E. cordatus , and their relationship is discussed under the comment of this species.

Distribution and conservation status: — Evolvulus ovatus occurs in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela. In Brazil, it occurs in the northeastern (Ceará, Maranh„o, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas states) and southeastern regions (Minas Gerais State) in caatinga and Atlantic forest domains on sandy soils or rocky outcrops. This species is designated as Least Concern (LC) due to its EOO estimated at 10,017,302.718 km 2. In Brazil, populations of this species were found in a protected area (Floresta Nacional do Araripe in Ceará State).

Figures

FIGURE 9. Lectotype of Evolvulus ovatus at the Smithsonian Institution (U.S.A. District of Columbia, Washington), specimen US00111220.