Digera muricata (L.) Mart.

Hassan, Walaa A., Al-Shaye, Najla A. & Iamonico, Duilio, 2023, A critical inventory of the family Amaranthaceae s. str. in Saudi Arabia, Phytotaxa 626 (4), pp. 223-246 : 236-237

6.1. Digera muricata (L.) Mart., Nova Acta Phys.-Med. Acad. Caes. Leop.-Carol. Nat. Cur. 13: 285. 1826 subsp. muricata ≡ Achyranthes muricata L., Sp. Pl., ed. 2. 1: 295. 1762.

Lectotype (designated by Townsend 1974: 23):— Herb. Linn. No. 287.6 ( LINN!, image of the lectotype available at https://linnean-online. org/2889/#?s=0&cv=0).

= Achyranthes muricata L., Sp. Pl., ed. 2. 1: 295. 1762.

Lectotype (designated by Townsend 1985: 37):— Herb. Linn. No. 287.7 ( LINN!, image of the lectotype available at https://linnean-online. org/2890/).

= Digera arvensis Forssk., Fl. Aegypt.-Arab.: 65. 1775.

Lectotype (designate here): — YEMEN. Wadi Mawr and Wadi Surdud, february 1763, Forsskål 1229 (C10002189!, image of the lectotype available at https://plants.jstor.org/stable/viewer/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.c10002189); isolectotype: C10002188!, image of the isolectotype available at https://plants.jstor.org/stable/viewer/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.c10002188?page=1.

Typification of Digera arvensis :— Forsskål (1775: 65) published Digera arvensis by giving a long and detailed description and the provenance “ Surdud ”, which refers to Wadi Surdud, a sedimentary basin situated in W-Yemen [see also Forsskål (1775: CVI) who indicated “Ph.” as provenance of D. arvensis , where “Ph.” means “Planites argillacea humida, montibus proprios” ( Forsskål 1775: CI)]. There are two specimens at C (C10002188, C10002189) bearing a plant collected in Wadi Mawr and Wadi Surdud in february 1763 which are part of the original material used to describe D. arvensis (see also Hepper & Friis 1994). We here designate C10002189 (which exhibits more flowers than C10002188) thus matching Forsskål’s description, as the lectotype of the name; the morphology of C10002189 corresponds to that of Digera muricata subsp. muricata (see Townsend 1973). C10002188 is a isolectotype.

Notes:— Two subspecies are currently recognized under Digera muricata , i.e. subsp. muricata and subsp. trinervis C.C.Towns. which differ by the shape of the leaves (ovate vs. linear) and the number of nerves of the outer tepals (7–12 vs. (1–)3).

The specimen, as well as the illustration ( Chaudhary 1998: 247, Plate 130) we traced for Digera muricata allow to confirm the occurrence in Saudi Arabia of subsp. muricata .

Chorology:― Digera muricata subsp. muricata is native to some countries of north-eastern Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian Peninsula, and south Asia ( POWO 2023).

Occurrence in Saudi Arabia :― Chaudhary (1998: 239) stated that Digera muricata occurs in the “westernsouthwestern region”. We verified its presence only at Makkah (see also Collenette 1999, Ghazanfar & Fisher 2013), whereas Miller & Cope (1996) and Abbas et al. (2020) reported the species in Jazan.

Specimina visa selecta:— SAUDI ARABIA . Makkah, In palmetis vallis arabicae Fatme prope Unsert, 12 february 1836, Schimper 830 (HBG503178!); ibidem (HBG503179!); ibidem (P00606396!); ibidem (MEL2462529!); ibidem (TUB000301!); ibidem (TUB000302!); In valle Fatme , s.d., Fischer s.n. (M0241424!); ibidem, Fischer 42 (M0241423!); In cultis et palmetis vallis Fatme, s.d., Fischer 42 (M0241422!).