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Short Communication
Nomenclatural novelties and notes in Penstemon (Plantaginaceae)
expand article infoCraig C. Freeman‡
‡ University of Kansas, Lawrence, United States of America

Corresponding author: Craig C. Freeman ( ccfree@ku.edu )

Academic editor: Peter de Lange
© 2017 Craig C. Freeman.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Freeman CC (2017) Nomenclatural novelties and notes in Penstemon (Plantaginaceae). PhytoKeys 80: 33-39. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.80.12962
Open Access

Abstract

Seven nomenclatural novelties in Penstemon (Plantaginaceae) are proposed for taxa that will be included in the forthcoming treatment of the genus in the Flora of North America North of Mexico series. Three additional novelties are made for Mexican taxa outside the flora area. Penstemon xylus A. Nelson is determined to be the correct name for the species heretofore called P. tusharensis N. Holmgren.

Keywords

Penstemon , Plantaginaceae

Introduction

Field and herbarium studies of the genus Penstemon Schmidel (Plantaginaceae) for a treatment in the forthcoming Volume 17 of the Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA) (Freeman in prep.) necessitate some nomenclatural changes for consistency in infraspecific rank, following FNA editorial guidelines. Three additional changes are made affecting two species that occur entirely in Mexico. Nomenclatural notes accompany some of the changes.

Methods

Information about type specimens is based on protologues, major online nomenclatural indices (Tropicos - http://www.tropicos.org/; The International Plant Names Index - http://www.ipni.org/; JSTOR Global Plants – https://plants.jstor.org), herbarium specimens, and websites of individual herbaria (BR [http://www.botanicgarden.be/], CAS [http://www.calacademy.org/scientists/botany-collections], CM [http://www.carnegiemnh.org/botany/collection.html], F [https://www.fieldmuseum.org/node/5196], GH [http://huh.harvard.edu/pages/digital-resources], JE [http://herbarium.univie.ac.at/database/search.php], K [http://apps.kew.org/herbcat/navigator.do?_ga=1.106533571.1517483332.14897 82412], MICH [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/image- idx?xc=1;page=searchgroup;g=herb-ic], MIN [http://bellatlas.umn.edu/collections/index.php], MO [http://www.tropicos.org/], NY [http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/vh/], RM [http://rmh.uwyo.edu/data/search.php], S [http://herbarium.nrm.se/search/specimens/], US [http://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/botany/?ti=3]). Herbarium abbreviations follow Index Herbariorum (Thiers 2016, continuously updated, http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/). A digital image was examined for each specimen for which a barcode number is given in the type citation, followed by the source. Specimens examined for which no online digital images are available are not accompanied by barcode numbers.

Nomenclatural novelties

Penstemon cardinalis var. regalis (A.Nelson) C.C.Freeman, stat. nov.

urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77162263-1

Basionym

Penstemon regalis A.Nelson, Amer. J. Bot. 21: 578–579. 1934; Penstemon cardinalis subsp. regalis (A.Nelson) G.T. Nisbet & R.C. Jacks.

Type

USA. NEW MEXICO: near Carlsbad Cavern, Jun 1930, G. Convis 75 (holotype: RM, RM0004319 [JSTOR image]).

In the protologue, Nelson (1934) stated that the type was collected in May 1930. The date on the type specimen is June 1930.

Penstemon crandallii var. procumbens (Greene) C.C.Freeman, stat. nov.

urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77162264-1

Basionym

Penstemon procumbens Greene, Pl. Baker. 3: 23–24. 1901; Penstemon crandallii subsp. procumbens (Greene) D.D. Keck.

Type

USA. COLORADO: Keblar Pass, in large mats on bare banks, 7 Aug 1901, C.F. Baker 733 (holotype: NDG, NDG45968 [JSTOR image]; isotypes: ARIZ, ARIZ-BOT-0005070 [JSTOR image], CAS, CAS0006571 [CAS website image], GH, GH00091383 [GH website image], JE, JE00002724 [JE website image], K, K000979692 [K website image], MO, MO-2217162 [MO website image], NY, NY00130478 [NY website image], RM, RM0004309 [JSTOR image], RM0004310 [JSTOR image], RSA, RSA0006207 [JSTOR image]), US, US00122356, [US website image], US011177691 [US website image]; probable isotypes: PH, PH00018550 [JSTOR image], RSA, RSA0006208 [JSTOR image]).

Label data on PH00018550 indicate the specimen was collected by Baker in 1900. Francis W. Pennell annotated the specimen as a probable isotype of Baker 733; David D. Keck annotated it as an isotype.

Penstemon crandallii var. ramaleyi (A.Nelson) C.C.Freeman, comb. &, stat. nov.

urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77162265-1

Basionym

Penstemon ramaleyi A. Nelson, Univ. Wyoming Publ. 3: 106. 1937.

Type

USA. COLORADO. Saguache Co.: Villa Grove, 3 mi W, 9 Jul 1935; F. Ramaley & K.R. Johnson 15116 (holotype: RM, RM0004316 [JSTOR image]; isotypes: COLO, COLO00396432 [JSTOR image], K, K000979786 [K website image], MO).

Penstemon eatonii var. exsertus (A.Nelson) C.C.Freeman, stat. nov.

urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77162266-1

Basionym

Penstemon exsertus A. Nelson, Amer. J. Bot. 18: 438. 1931; Penstemon eatonii subsp. exsertus (A. Nelson) D.D. Keck.

Type

USA. ARIZONA: In Salt River Canyon, on the Apache Trail, 4 May 1925, A. Nelson 10624 (holotype: RM, RM0004214 [JSTOR image]).

Penstemon linarioides var. coloradoensis (A.Nelson) C.C.Freeman, stat. nov.

urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77162267-1

Basionym

Penstemon coloradoensis A. Nelson, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 26: 355. 1899; Penstemon linarioides subsp. coloradoensis (A. Nelson) D.D. Keck.

Type

USA. COLORADO: Mancos, common on sage plains and foothills throughout the La Platas, 23 Jun 1898, C.F. Baker, F.S. Earle, and S.M. Tracy 70 (lectotype: RM, RM0004187 [JSTOR image]; isolectotypes: CAS, CAS0006620 [CAS website image], F, F0072589F [JSTOR image], GH, GH00091215 [GH website image], K, K000979702 [K website image], KSC , MICH, MICH1108038 [MICH website image], MO, MO-100230852 , NDG, NDG45904 [JSTOR image], NEB, NEB-v-0000619 [JSTOR image], NY, NY00091049 [NY website image], OS, OS0000264 [JSTOR image], RM, RM0004188 [JSTOR image], RSA, RSA0006119 [JSTOR image], RSA0006120 [JSTOR image], US, US00122246 [US website image]; probable isolectotype: NDG, NDG45695 [JSTOR image]).

In describing Penstemon coloradoensis, Nelson (1899) stated “I have before me specimens from two collections made near Mancos, Colo., by Messrs. Baker, Earle, and Tracy, 1898 and distributed as P. caespitosus Nutt. Also from two collections by Professor Crandall, from Hotchkiss, Colo., 1892, and from Durango, 1898, both distributed as P. linarioides Sileri Gray.” Nelson (1899) did not designate a holotype; the collections he cited are syntypes. Keck (1937) designated C.F. Baker, F.S. Earle, and S.M. Tracy 70 (RM) as the lectotype, of which there currently are two sheets, suggesting a second-step lectotypification might be necessary. Accession labels on the two sheets indicate they were received from the herbaria of F.S. Earle in 1899 (RM0004187; accession number 13703) and George E. Osterhout in 1938 (RM0004188; accession number 165282), subsequent to Keck’s lectotype designation. RM0004187 bears annotations by A. Nelson (Penstemon coloradoensis A. N. n. sp., without date), F.W. Pennell (P. coloradoensis, type, 1916), and D.D. Keck (P. linarioides A. Gray subsp. coloradoensis (A. Nelson) D.D. Keck, type, 1936). RM0004188, the later accession, was not annotated by Nelson, Pennell, or Keck. Whether Nelson had another sheet at RM that was lost, destroyed, or sent elsewhere, or had access to a sheet from some other herbarium, is not known. Of the two sheets currently at RM, only RM0004187 appears to have been there when Nelson described P. coloradoensis and later seen by Keck when he lectotypified the name. RM0004187 is taken as the lectotype, RM004188 is taken as an isolectotype, and no second-step lectotypification is needed. As an aside, the sheet at KSC is P. crandallii A. Nelson var. crandallii.

Penstemon miniatus var. apateticus (Straw) C.C.Freeman, stat. nov.

urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77162268-1

Basionym

Penstemon apateticus Straw, Bol. Soc. Bot. México 24: 42–43. 1959; Penstemon miniatus subsp. apateticus (Straw) Straw.

Type. MÉXICO. DISTRITO FEDERAL: Serrania de Ajusco, 10000 ft, Aug-Sep 1896, C.G. Pringle 6463 (holotype: CAS, CAS0003847 [JSTOR image]; isotypes: BR, BR0000008418234 [BR website image], CM, CM2018 [CM website image], F, F0072654F [F website image], GH, GH00091520 [GH website image], JE, JE00000356 [JE website image], MIN1001915 [MIN website image ; this specimen bears a second barcode, 189693, at the top of the sheet], MO, MO-155225 [MO website image], NDG, NDG45615 [JSTOR image], NY, NY00130560 [NY website image], PH, PH00020963 [JSTOR image], S, S10-20448 [S website image], US, US00122215 [US website image]).

Penstemon miniatus var. townsendianus (Straw) C.C.Freeman, comb. &, stat. nov.

urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77162269-1

Basionym

Penstemon apateticus subsp. townsendianus Straw, Bol. Soc. Bot. México 24: 44. 1959.

Type

MÉXICO. CHIHUAHUA: collected in the Sierra Madres near Colonia Garcia, altitude 8000 ft, 1 Aug 1899, C.H.T. Townsend & C.M. Barber 211 (holotype: US, US00122217 [US website image]; isotypes: A, A00091591 [GH website image], F, F0072655F [F website image], GH, GH00091522 [GH website image], MO, MO-155224 [MO website image], NDG, NDG45616 [JSTOR image], NY, NY00130562 [NY website image], US, US01100658 [US website image]; probable isotype: NY, NY00130561 [NY website image]).

Straw (1959) designated US sheet number 568154 (=US00122217) as the holotype. He cited a second specimen at US as an isotype; that specimen is US sheet number 347089 (=US01100658). The label on NY00130561 does not bear the collector’s name or number; it was collected 5 mi SE of Colonia Garcia at an altitude of 7500 ft. Straw annotated the specimen as being Townsend and Barber 211.

Penstemon pseudospectabilis var. connatifolius (A.Nelson) C.C.Freeman, stat. nov.

urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77162270-1

Basionym

Penstemon connatifolius A. Nelson, Amer. J. Bot. 18: 437–438. 1931; Penstemon pseudospectabilis subsp. connatifolius (A. Nelson) D.D. Keck.

Type

USA. ARIZONA: Steep banks, Apache Trail, 3 May 1925, A. Nelson 10314 (holotype: RM, RM0004190 [JSTOR image]; isotypes: NO, NO0109834 [JSTOR image], NY NY00091052 [NY website image], RSA, RSA0006126 [JSTOR image]).

Penstemon spectabilis var. subinteger C.C.Freeman, stat. nov.

urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77162271-1

Basionym

Penstemon spectabilis subsp. subinteger D.D. Keck, Amer. Midl. Naturalist 18: 817–818. 1937.

Type

MÉXICO. BAJA CALIFORNIA: Santa Maria Plains, 15 mi S of Hamilton Ranch, plants 2-3 ft high, corolla bluish at lips, throat and tube with less blue than red, 8 Apr 1931, I.W. Wiggins 5207 (holotype: CAS, CAS003886 [CAS website image]; isotypes: CAS, CAS0003887 [CAS website image], F, F0072666F [F website image], GH, GH0091585 [GH website image], K, K000528837 [K website image], MICH, MICH1108051 [MICH website image], MO, MO-155229 [MO website image], NY, NY00130580 [NY website image], NY00130581 [NY website image], PH, PH00018576 [JSTOR image], RM, RM0004355 [RM website image], US, US00122381 [US website image]).

Penstemon secundiflorus var. versicolor (Pennell) C.C.Freeman, comb. &, stat. nov.

urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77162272-1

Basionym

Penstemon versicolor Pennell, Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 20: 358–359. 1920.

Type

USA. Colorado. Pueblo Co.: clayey loam, mesa NE of Pueblo, ca 4700 ft, 5 Jun 1915, F. W. Pennell 5732 (holotype: NY, NY00029690 [NY website image]; isotypes: COLO, COLO00396481 [JSTOR image], US, US00122397 [US website image]).

Nomenclatural note

Penstemon xylus A. Nelson, Bot. Gaz. 31–32. 1902.

Penstemon caespitosus var. suffruticosus A. Gray in A. Gray et al., Syn. Fl. N. Amer. 2: 270. 1878 (non Penstemon suffruticosus Douglas ex Benth.); Penstemon tusharensis N.H. Holmgren, Brittonia 31: 106. 1979, nom. illeg.

Type

USA. Utah. Beaver, 1877, Palmer s.n. (holotype: GH, GH00091198 [GH website image)]; probable isotype: ISC, ISC-v-0000867 [JSTOR image].

The correct name for this taxon at the rank of species has been the source of confusion. With the earlier name Penstemon suffruticosus Douglas ex Benth. blocking transfer of A. Gray’s varietal epithet suffruticosus at the rank of species, Rydberg (1901) published P. suffrutescens in an attempt to provide a substitute. However, in doing so, he flagged P. suffrutescens as a new species (sp. nov.). He also provided a brief diagnosis and cited a specimen (USA. Colorado. Ridgway, woods, altitude 7500 ft, 20 Jun 1895, F. Tweedy 170; holotype: NY, NY00130526 [NY website image]) different from that of Gray’s type for P. caespitosus var. suffruticosus. Rydberg’s name must be considered a validly published species name—not an avowed substitute for Gray’s name. As noted by Holmgren (1979), the specimen cited by Rydberg is referable to P. crandallii, where P. suffrutescens must be placed as a synonym.

Nelson (1902) published Penstemon xylus and clearly stated it was a new name (nom. nov.) for Gray’s P. caespitosus var. suffruticosus. Nelson cited a specimen (USA. Colorado. Sapinero, 1898, H.N. Wheeler 446 [COLO, COLO00396499 [JSTOR image], NY, NY00130556 [NY website image], RM, RM0004372 [JSTOR image]) that he believed was referable to A. Gray’s concept of P. caespitosus var. suffruticosus. However, it too is referable to P. crandallii. Holmgren (1979), believing that neither Rydberg’s nor Nelson’s name could be applied to Gray’s P. caespitosus var. suffruticosus because of the specimens cited by each author, published P. tusharensis as an avowed substitute. In spite of Nelson having cited a specimen that is not referable to P. caespitosus var. suffruticosus, P. xylus must stand as the avowed substitute for P. caespitosus var. suffruticosus at the rank of species, making P. tusharensis illegitimate and superfluous.

Acknowledgments

I thank Kanchi Gandhi (GH), Werner Greuter (B), Richard Rabeler (MICH), Nicholas Turland (B), James Zarucchi (MO), and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments on the draft manuscript and/or nomenclatural advice. Ernie Nelson kindly provided information about specimens of Penstemon coloradoensis at RM.

References

  • Freeman CC (in prep) Penstemon (Plantaginaceae). In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Eds) 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico. 16+ vols. New York and Oxford. Vol. 17.
  • Straw RM (1959) Los Penstemons de México. I. Sobre la confusion entre Penstemon lanceolatus y Penstemon imberbis. Bol. Soc. Bot. México 24: 39–52.
  • Thiers B (2016) Index Herbariorum: A global directory of public herbaria and associated staff. New York Botanical Garden’s Virtual Herbarium. http://sweetgum.nybg.org/ih/ [continuously updated]
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