Veronica undulata Wall.

Albach, Dirk C., 2025, From just a few to the most type-rich herbarium for Veronica L. (Plantaginaceae) - The effect of digitization of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle herbarium in Paris, Adansonia (3) 47 (7), pp. 47-130 : 89

Veronica undulata Wall.

Flora Indica 1: 147 ( Roxburgh & Wallich 1820).

TYPE CITATION. — Nepal: “Discovered in the Turraye [subsylvatic region of Nepal] by Mr. W. Jack, an assistant surgeon on the Honourable Company’s Bengal establishment”.

NEOTYPE (designated here). — “Bareilly [Bareilly] Hindustonia 1825” [in India, Uttar Pradesh], Wallich no. 406A / 406.1: K[ K001109972 *].

ISONEOTYPES (designated here). — E[ E00456644 *], PH[ PH00028840 *].

Nomenclatural note. Veronica undulata is a hexaploid relative of the cosmopolitan V. anagallis-aquatica ( Albach et al. 2008) . Veronica undulata occurs from Pakistan to Japan between 20°N and 48°N. Wallich differentiated it from related species by its lanceolate leaves with wavy margins and glandular inflorescence, although the smaller (shorter than calyx), white flowers are equally characteristic. Wallich ( Roxburgh & Wallich 1820) mentioned in the protologue that the plant was collected by Mr. W. Jack in the Turraye ( Nepal). William Jack is known to have travelled to Bengal before meeting Wallich and subsequently collected in Sumatra and other places in southeast Asia, but it is unclear whether Jack travelled in Nepal ( Candolle & Radcliffe-Smith 1981; Noltie & Watson 2021). Also, neither Wallich (1828) nor Bentham (1835) mentioned a specimen by Jack but only those listed by Wallich (1828) and one by Royle from Kanaour despite Bentham having intensively worked on the collection of Veronica from Wallich ( Candolle & Radcliffe-Smith 1981). Therefore, the attribution of a specimen to Jack from Nepal is likely an error or has been lost and no specimen conforming to the information in the protologue is likely to be found. Therefore, a neotype needs to be found with the help of Wallich’s information.

In his Numerical List ( Wallich 1828)three collections are mentioned under no. 406: “1. Bareilly [Bareilly] Hindustonia 1825 [in India, Uttar Pradesh]; 2. Noakote [Nawakot] Napaliae 1821 [in Uttarakhand]; 3. Sylhet [now Bangladesh, chiefly collected from the Khasia Hills, Indian State of Meghalaya according to Noltie & Watson (2021)], F. De Silva”. All three collections are present in the Wallich herbarium in K (K001109972- K001109974) with further specimens in other herbaria. For example, a specimen of the third collection (“406C”) is stored in P (P04049092), whereas a duplicate of 406B is found in E (E00456645). The first collection is the largest, well preserved and on its own sheet. It is, therefore, chosen as lectotype. The specimens in NY (NY00130779, NY00130780) mentioned by Pennell (1921) bears the note “Lindley” and, thus, refers to a different collection than the one mentioned byWallich (1828). The specimen in the herbarium Bentham (K001070374) and others (BM000900922, M0188508) cannot clearly be assigned to one of the three collections.