Triplaris pyramidalis Jacq., 1763

Koenemann, Daniel Mark & Burke, Janelle M., 2025, A nomenclatural synopsis of the genus Triplaris (Polygonaceae), Phytotaxa 700 (2), pp. 115-146 : 133-134

Triplaris pyramidalis Jacq. (1763: 13, t.173, f.5)

Type (designated here):—Selectarum stirpiumAmericanarum historia 2:t.173.f. 5.1763.(lectotype:t.173 [https://www.biodiversitylibrary. org/item/10332#page/352/]).

Type (designated here):— COLOMBIA. [Santander Department], Suba, 400m, July 1851 (fruits), Triana 1997-2 (epitype: COL [ COL 239279, digital image!]).

Notes:— Jacquin (1763: 13) indicated as provenance “habitat in sylvis territorii Carthagenensis”. Brandbyge (1986: 550), although he realized the need to designate a lectotype, did not to do it reporting “Non designatus”.

We did not find any Jacquin specimens of Triplaris at B, BM, H, LINN, OXF, UPS, or W, where Jacquin’s Herbarium is known to be deposited ( HUH-IB, 2022). The only original extant material appears to be the illustration given by Jaquin (1763: 13), i.e. “TAB. CLXXIII”, which is here designated as the lectotype of the name Triplaris pyramidalis .

Meyer (1840) recognized Triplaris pyramidalis and cited Jacquin as the authority, but listed the plant as “species mihi ignotae v. dubiae .” Meisner (1856) also included T. pyramidalis in a section of “species non satis notae”, but suggested that T. pyramidalis might be synonymous with T. americana L., which is what Brandbyge (1986) concluded.

Dugand (1952) believed that the description and drawing (available at: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/ 10332#page/352/) in the protologue were sufficiently detailed enough to identify specimens from the Caribbean coast of Colombia that could serve as neotypes (“ejemplares”). He considered a number of specimens (Dugand does not indicate where he saw these: H. H. Smith 853, Elias 1578, Dugand & García-Barraga 2390, Dugand & García-Barraga 2411, Dugand & Jaramillo 2702, Dugand & Jaramillo 2791) but favors two in particular, i.e. R. Romero-Castaña 994 ( COL accession numbers 32354 and 32261, from Ciénaga in Magdalena Department) and Triana 1997-2 ( COL barcode 239279, from Sube in Socorro Province, present-day Santander Department). We have located and seen the Triana 1997- 2 specimen and compared it with the original description and illustration by Jacquin (1763). The protologue description and illustration are not exceptionally detailed and could describe a number of different species of Triplaris but do describe the Triana 1997- 2 specimen accurately. As a result, we designate it as an epitype ( ICBN Art. 9.9). We verified existence of 2 specimens of Romero-Castaña 994 at COL. As of the time of this publication, we have not seen R. Romero-Castaña 994.