Rinorea laurifolia L. B. Sm. & Á. Fernández

Hoyos-Gómez, Saúl E., Ballard Jr., Harvey E., Callejas Posada, Ricardo & Wahlert, Gregory A., 2025, Taxonomic clarifications, a new combination, and three new species of Neotropical Rinorea (Violaceae), PhytoKeys 256, pp. 151-174 : 151-174

5. Rinorea laurifolia L. B. Sm. & Á. Fernández , Caldasia 6: 90. 1954.

= Rinorea cordata L. B. Sm. & Á. Fernández , Caldasia 6: 90. 1954, syn. nov. Type. Colombia. Dept. Santander: camp on Margarita Creek, vicinity of Barranca Bermeja, between Sogamoso and Colorado Rivers, 100–500 m, 10 Oct 1934, O. L. Haught 1388 (holotype: US [barcode 00114471; cat. no. 1592066]!; isotype COL [barcode COL 000002869]!).

Type.

Colombia • Dept. Santander: vicinity of Puerto Berrio, between Carare and Magdalena Rivers , 100–700 m, Jul 1936, O. L. Haught 1908 (holotype: COL [barcode COL 000002872 ]!; isotype: US [barcode 00114483; cat. no. 1661881]!) .

Notes.

The type localities of Rinorea laurifolia and R. cordata are separated by less than 40 km in the area between Barrancabermeja and Puerto Berrío on the Magdalena River. Both of the localities are also similar in terms of vegetation type and climate. The two species were described from fragmentary herbarium material, yet after examination of the types and several additional specimens, the nearly 20 qualitative and quantitative morphological characters we measured were found to overlap considerably. Rinorea cordata clearly fit within the circumscription of R. laurifolia , and we were unable to characterize any consistent differences that would allow us to differentiate or maintain the two as separate taxa.