Monteverdia floribunda (Reissek) Biral (2017: 688)

Biral, Leonardo, 2020, New synonyms in Celastraceae toward an update of the flora of Brazil, Phytotaxa 446 (4), pp. 237-244 : 238-239

Monteverdia floribunda (Reissek) Biral (2017: 688) .

≡ Maytenus floribunda Reissek (1861: 16 , t. IV, f. 3, t. VII).

Type:— BRAZIL. Goiás: ad Crixas , May 1819, Pohl s.n. (lectotype, W [ 0047062 ] [U neg 1177]! image, designated here ; isolectotypes, BR [ 0000005737673 ]! , LE [n.v., indicated by Carvalho-Okano 1992: 62 and Carvalho-Okano & Leitão-Filho 2004: 29], W [ 0047063 ]! image ).

= Maytenus floribunda ( Reissek 1861: 16, t. IV, f. 3, t. VII) var. parvifolia Warming (1880: 366) . Type:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Lagoa Santa [Lapa Vermelha], in silvis, s.d. [11 November 1864], Warming s.n. (holotype, C [C10023017]! image). syn. nov.

Maytenus floribunda var. parvifolia was described by Eugenius Warming based on one of his collections from the Minas Gerais state in Brazil’s Southeastern region, where he lived from 1863 to 1866 ( Klein 2002). Monteverdia floribunda is a widely distributed species in South America. It is most prevalent in the Brazilian areas containing Cerrado vegetation but has also been collected in Bolivia, Colombia and Guyanas ( Biral et al. 2015). Maytenus floribunda var. parvifolia was ignored in Carvalho-Okano’s (1992) Maytenus revision and it did not appear in other references I traced. After contacting the herbarium C, I was able to inspect a high-resolution image of the holotype and to determine that its continued designation as a variety of Monteverdia floribunda , based solely on leaf characters, is not supported. The leaves of M. floribunda are quite variable in size but relatively constant in other features, such as having an elliptic to obovate shape, a margin that is crenate only close to the apex, 11-14 pairs of ascending secondary veins, and multi-flowered fasciculate inflorescences.

The specimen W0047062 is elected as lectotype for Monteverdia floribunda because it is constituted by a complete branch with flowers and contains two labels, one with the name author’s identification and other bearing a handwritten description.