Malva cretica

Iamonico, Duilio & Guacchio, Emanuele Del, 2017, Typification of the names in Malva cretica s. l. (Malvaceae), Phytotaxa 295 (3), pp. 280-286 : 280

Malva cretica

Cavanilles (1786: 67) described Malva cretica through a short diagnosis (“M. [ Malva ] caule—semi pedali hirsuto: foliis cordatis subrotondo—lobatis crenatis: floribus solitariis longe pedunculatis”), a detailed description, the provenance (“Habitat in Creta”) and one synonym cited from Tournefort (1719, Corollarium: 2). Moreover, Cavanilles (l.c.) stated “ V. S. [= “Vidi Siccum” which means that Cavanilles examined a dried specimen] apud de Jussieu in herbario D. Isnardi. Unicum exemplar ”. In addition, he consulted, for the description of some details, a manuscript by Tournefort that Jussieu let him see. Since Cavanilles (l. c.) reported “ Unicum exemplar ”, and there is no suggestion that the Tournefortian manuscript was more than text, this specimen is the holotype of the name Malva cretica (see Art 9.1, and the discussion by McNeill 2014). Fortunately, we found this one specimen (a juvenile individual without root) in the Jussieu’s collection at P (code 00662859). It bears one plant and one original label: “ Alcea annua cretica D. Tournefort. In Hortis culta…c’est l’ Alcea Cretica hirsuta Corol. I R H [= Corollarium Institutionues Rei Herbariae] 2 cultiveé au Jardin du Roy. …ex herb. Isnardi”. The plant morphology matches the diagnosis by Cavanilles (1786: 67). The label annotations correspond to the information provided in the protologue. According to the author, the book was already in press when he examined the holotype, therefore its illustration is lacking. Effectively, Cavanilles published the illustration some years later ( Cavanilles 1788: Tab. CXXXVIII fig. 2) (image available at http://bibdigital.rjb.csic. es/ing/Libro.php?Libro=321). Notably, it is the faithful portrait of P-00662859 (the holotype), including a precise detail: the root was drawn on the basis of the Tournefort’s manuscript, because it lacks in the Isnard’s specimen.