Triplaris Loefl. (1758: 256)

Koenemann, Daniel Mark & Burke, Janelle M., 2025, A nomenclatural synopsis of the genus Triplaris (Polygonaceae), Phytotaxa 700 (2), pp. 115-146 : 118

Triplaris Loefl. (1758: 256)

Type species:— Triplaris americana L. (1759: 881)

Type (designated by Dugand 1960: 388):— VENEZUELA. Barcelona, February 1755 (fr), collector unknown (neotype: LINN [ LINN 108.1, digital image!]).

= Blochmannia Rchb. (1828: 163) .

Type species:— Blochmannia weigeltiana (Rchb.) Kuntze (Type:— SURINAME. 1827 (fr), Weigelt s.n. (B [B 10-0250409, digital image!]). [see notes under species treatment for Triplaris weigeltiana ]

≡ Vellasquezia Bertol. (1840: 39–40) .

Type species:— Vellasquezia melaenodendron Bertol. (Type:—Florula Guatimalensis. t.46. 1840. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ page/6915489#page/568/]). [see notes under the species treatment for Triplaris melaenodendron ]

Notes on the generic type:— The genus name was first used by Loefling in his Iter Hispanicum (1758) . Possibly because it was a posthumous publication, the name Triplaris is mentioned and briefly described, but no specimen is cited. Loefling was a student of Linnaeus, who prepared Loefling’s Iter Hispanicum. Although Linnaeus did not complete the Triplaris entry in Iter Hispanicum (1758) , he did include Triplaris in the 2 nd volume of the 10 th edition of Systema Naturae ( Linnaeus 1759). Here there is a brief description given as well as the addition of the epithet “americana ”. Dorr & Wiersema (2010a) argued that the genus Triplaris was validly published by Loefling in Iter Hispanicum (1758) and that the type species T. americana L. was published later by Linnaeus in Systema Naturae (1759) with Loefling’s description being the "the sole basis for T. americana L.".

There had been confusion for many years as to the specimen for the type of the genus ( Triplaris americana L.). This issue was clarified by Dugand (1960) who discovered a specimen of T. americana in the Linnaean herbarium (LINN no. 108.1) which, from that time, had been regarded as the lectotype of the Linnaean name. As a result, T. americana was also considered to be the generitype ( Dugand 1960, Brandbyge 1986). Yet, it is not clear that any Loefling specimens from Venezuela survived. Dorr & Wiersema (2010a) argued that the genus Triplaris was validly published by Loefling and that his description was "the sole basis for T. americana L.", such that if the type (LINN 108.1) designated by Dugand "does not trace back to Loefling, then the Linnaean specimen must be considered a neotype ". Dorr & Wiersema (2010b) subsequently refer to the material in question as a neotype. We follow that here. More information about the type specimen can be found in the T. americana L. entry.

Taxonomic notes:—In addition to Ruprechtia , Triplaris has a taxonomic relationship to two other genera, i.e. Vellasquezia Bertol. (occasionally given as Velasquezia , e.g. by Pritzel 1855) and Blochmannia Rchb. Both of these genera were synonymized with Triplaris in The Flora of Panama by Duke (1960). The protologue of Vellasquezia includes a type locality (“Habitat in Esquintla ”) and a plate (“Tab. XII”) but no specimen. After examining the plate, we concur that this is a species of Triplaris . Brandbyge (1986) incorrectly designated a neotype for the type species V. melaeonodendron Bertol. at F (FV0067822F) based on the illustration and the type locality. We correct this below by designating a lectotype and an epitype under the treatment for T. melaenodendron .

The protologue indicated the type of Blochmannia to be among Weigelt’s exsiccate. Brandbyge (1986) designated a lectotype at B (Weigelt 1827). There are three sheets of Weigelt 1827 at B (B10-0250408, B10-0250409, and B10- 0250410) and Brandbyge (1986) has not left any labels indicating which is the lectotype and which are isolectotypes. Nevertheless, after examination of the specimens, we would consider all three as specimens of Triplaris , and we designate one as the lectotype. See individual species treatments for more information and clarification on the type specimens for Vellasquezia and Blochmannia .