Biophytum sensitivum (Rumphius, 1685)

Andel, T. R. van, Mazumdar, J., Barth, E. N. T. & Veldkamp, J. F., 2018, Possible Rumphius specimens detected in Paul Hermann’s Ceylon herbarium (1672 - 1679) in Leiden, The Netherlands, Blumea 63 (1), pp. 11-19 : 13-15

Biophytum sensitivum

Folio 94 bears a specimen of Biophytum sensitivum (L.) DC. ( Oxalidaceae ), annotated by Hermann as ‘ Herba sentiens Rumph. Nintikumba Zeylan. ’ ( Fig. 8 ). This is a widespread species in Southeast Asia, but not known from Sri Lanka ( Veldkamp 1989). At BM, there are five specimens identified by Trimen (1887) as B. sensitivum (three specimens in Vol. 1, folio 28 and two specimens in Vol. 3, folio 54). These have, however, much longer peduncles and clearly pedicellate flowers ( Fig. 9 ), while the L specimen has relatively shorter peduncles and subsessile flowers ( Fig. 8 ). The illustrations in both the manuscript ( Fig. 10 ) and the printed version of Herbarium Amboinense ( Fig. 11 ) depict the same taxon as the Leiden specimen, B. sensitivum . All BM specimens represent the Sri Lankan endemic B. hermanni Veldk. , with the specimen depicted in Fig. 9 being the type ( Veldkamp 1989), though Dassanayake in the Revised Flora of Ceylon (1999: 181), considered it to be B. reinwardtii (Zucc.) Klotzsch. Rumphius provided an extensive description of ‘ Herba sentiens’ in 1685 and dedicated three pages on it in Herbarium Amboinense (1747: 301). He considered this plant a masterpiece of nature, as it leaves close at the slightest touch. Because of its characteristic behaviour, the plant was used in the Moluccas as a love charm, but in his long list of vernacular names, Rumphius did not mention the Sinhalese ‘Nintikumba’ or anything similar. Annotations on the BM collections refer to Herba viva ( Acosta 1578) and Herba sentiens ( Bontius 1658: 120) , but not to Rumphius or a Sinhalese name. Apparently, when Hermann made these collections, he had not yet received the ‘Rumphius’ specimen of Biophytum sensitivum or read Rumphius’ publication on the plant (1685). The Erfurt collection has one specimen identified by Rauschert (1970) as B. sensitivum , with the annotation ‘Nintikumbu’. We requested a digital image and identified this specimen as B. hermanni . The Paris collection has a specimen (page 63) identified by Lourteig (1966: 28) as B. sensitivum , without a reference to Rumphius or a Sinhalese name, which was considered by Veldkamp (1989) as an isotype of B. hermanni . Museum Zeylanicum ( Sherard 1717: 35, 37) lists the Sinhalese names Nidikudda or Ni(n) dikumba, explaining that it is derived from ‘nidi’ (sleeping) and ‘cumba’ (sleep), and indicates the pages in the British Hermann collections (on folios 28 and 54), but not the Leiden one. The name Gasnidikumba is mentioned under B. reinwardtii (now considered to be B. hermanni ) in Sri Lanka ( Dassanayake 1999: 192).

With a different spelling, the vernacular name ‘Nidikoempaij’ is mentioned for a drawing made by an unknown artist in Sri Lanka around 1700 ( Fig. 12a, b ), found in an unpublished codex of 262 watercolour drawings of medicinal plants from there (Icones Plantarum Malabaricarum, adscriptis nominibus et viribus. Vol. I. & II (BPL_126 D), in the Special Collections of the Leiden University Library ( Beumer 2013). This plant, with obvious long pedicels, was recently identified following the Flora of Ceylon as B. reinwardtii ( Scholman 2017) , but should be renamed B. hermanni .

Figures

Fig. 8 Folio 94, Vol. II of the Hermann herbarium in Leiden. Biophytum sensitivum. — Photograph: Naturalis Biodiversity Center.

Fig. 9 Specimens of Biophytum hermanni in the Hermann collection in London, Vol. 3, page 54 (BM000628004). — Photograph: Natural History Museum, London.

Fig. 10 Original drawing of Biophytum sensitivum on page 187a in Rumphi- us’ manuscript BPL314 (1692) in the Leiden University Library. — Photo- graph: Tinde van Andel.

Fig. 11 Illustration of Biophytum sensitivum from the printed version of the Herbarium Amboinense (Rumphius 1747: 301).

Fig. 12a Drawing of Biophytum hermannii by an anonymous artist in Sri Lanka around 1700. Manuscript BPL 126 D, Leiden University Library Special Col- lections. — Photograph: Leiden University.