Veronica capensis Fenzl

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 : 57

Veronica capensis Fenzl

Linnaea 17: 332 ( Fenzl 1843, nom. illeg. (Art. 53.1; non V. capensis Burm. ).

TYPE CITATION. — South Africa, Western/ Northern Cape: “Cap. b. spei. (Drège)”.

POTENTIAL ORIGINAL MATERIAL. — P[P03429552*].

Nomenclatural note. Fenzl (1843) described V. capensis based on a specimen for which he did not mention the exact locality but just generally that it is from the Cape. Sellers (1983) mentioned a type of V. capensis in W, but it is not entirely clear whether Sellers really saw the specimen or just expected it there. Despite searching the herbarium W, the specimen has not been found, yet, and Drège (1843) did not mention the species. In fact, the specimen of V. anagallis-aquatica from the Garip/Orange River is the only specimen of the genus mentioned byDrège (1843). Additionally, the description of V. capensis fits to V. anagallis-aquatica and even better to the particular specimen in the general herbarium of P. I, therefore, conclude that V. capensis is a synonym of V. anagallis-aquatica . Therefore, the specimen in P is important at the moment to verify the identity of the name V. capensis . However, despite being labelled V. capensis , it is not clear whether Fenzl saw the specimen in P and whether this is indeed the same collection as the one used by Fenzl for the description of V. capensis . A typification is, therefore, premature without a closer inspection of the herbarium in W.