Maesa rugosa var. griffithii C.B. Clarke (1882: 509)

Dhatchanamoorthy, Narayanasamy & Devanathan, Krishanamoorthy, 2025, Reevaluating the infraspecific taxa of Maesa rugosa C. B. Clarke (Primulaceae): Taxonomic reassessment and typification update, Phytotaxa 683 (1), pp. 53-62 : 55-57

Maesa rugosa var. griffithii C.B. Clarke (1882: 509) p.p.

Type:— INDIA. East Himalaya , Griffith 3554 p.p. K (Lectotype designated here: K000756239 digital images!), Fig. 2 ; isolectotype: P (P00463635 digital image!), CAL (CAL0000017424 digital image!).

Description:—Shrubs or small trees; branchlets scarcely warted. Leaves 18–21 × 6–9.5 cm, obtuse or rounded at base, entire to obscurely denticulate at margins, acuminate at apex; coriaceous; secondary veins 15–16 pairs; petiole c. 1.4 cm long, canaliculate. Inflorescence a panicle, axillary, 3–4 cm long. Flowers white, c. 3 mm across. Pedicels c. 1.3 mm long, puberulous. Calyx 5-lobed, glabrous; lobes broadly ovate, c. 1 × 0.8 mm, punctate-lineate, entire at margins, obtuse-acute at apex. Corolla campanulate, 5-loabed, glabrous; tube cylindric, c. 0.5 mm long; lobes ovate or broadly ovate, c. 1.5 × 1.2 mm, entire at margins, obtuse to rounded at apex, punctate-lineate. Stamens 5, inserted at middle of corolla tube. Ovary ovid-globose; Style cylindric; stigma 5-lobed. Fruit globose, c. 5 mm across, punctate lineate.

Flowering & Fruiting:—December to April

Distribution:— Bhutan, India

Other specimens:— BHUTAN (Bootan). s.loc., Griffith & c. 2300 K (K000756237 digital image!); Chucki, 4000– 5000 feet, C.B. Clarke 217 K (K000756238 digital image!). INDIA. West Bengal, Kalimpong, Kuwapani to way to

Doley, 1788 m, N 27° 056545′, E 88° 676608′, 14 Feb. 2018, Vinay Ranjan, Gopal Krishna & Anant Kumar75619 CAL (CAL0000213781 digital image!).

Lectotypification:—C.B. Clarke first described M. rugosa var. griffithii based on Griffith’s collections ( Griffith 3554) and Simons’ collection from Assam. However, Griffith accidentally provided collection number 3554 for the specimens collected from the Eastern Himalayas and the West Bengal. Clarke placed an annotation label with the handwritten name of M. rugosa var. griffithii on both the Eastern Himalayan and the West Bengal sheets. A scrupulous examination of the morphological characters, the Eastern Himalayan specimens differ from the West Bengal specimens. The Eastern Himalayan specimens with lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate leaves, rounded base, and acuminate apex are precisely matching with Clarke’s description of M. rugosa var. griffithii . Hence, the lectotype is designated according to Article 9.2 and Article 9.17 of the ICN code. The sheet containing Griffith and C.B. Clarke’s collections is pasted on a single sheet; one is on the top and an additional one is underneath. Of which the bottom Griffith’s specimen is in good condition, with Clarkes’ annotation label and well matching with the protologue—hence, the specimen with the barcode number K000756239 is designated here as lectotype for the name M. rugosa var. griffithii .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Lectotype of Maesa rugosa var. griffithii C.B. Clarke (Griffith 3554 p.p., K000756239)