ARTÍCULO

New aliens in Malvaceae for the North African flora, with nomenclatural note

R. EL MOKNI¹ & D. IAMONICO²

¹ University of Monastir, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences ‘A’, Laboratory of Botany, Cryptogamy and Plant Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy of Monastir, av. Avicenna, TN-5000 Monastir, Tunisia
² University of Rome Sapienza, Department DPTA, Section Environment and Landscape, v. Flaminia 70, I-00196 Rome, Italy

ORCID iD. R. EL MOKNI: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3849-1039, D. IAMONICO: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5491-7568

Author for correspondence: D. Iamonico (d.iamonico@yahoo.it)

Editor: L. Sáez

ABSTRACT
New aliens in Malvaceae for the North African flora, with nomenclatural notes.— As part of ongoing studies on Tunisian Malvaceae, populations of two Hibiscus species (H. rosa-sinensis and H. syriacus) and Lagunaria patersonia were discovered in northern Tunisia, representing first records for the national and North African flora. Morphological characters, as well as ecological and chorological data are given. Nomenclatural notes about the names H. acerifolius (= H. syriacus), H. chinensis (= H. syriacus), H. patersonius (basionym of L. patersonia), and H. rhombifolius (= H. syriacus) are provided, i.e. indication of the holotype for Hibiscus chinensis (van Braam Houckgeest’s illustration), and designation of lectotypes for H. acerifolius (a Salisbury’s illustration), H. rhombifolius (Cavanilles’s illustration), and H. patersonius (Andrew’s illustration). Further illegitimate and invalid names (Althaea frutex, H. floridus, Ketmia syrorum, K. arborea, and K. arborescens) are also treated.
KEY WORDS: Hibiscus; Lagunaria; non-native taxa; Tunisia; typification.

Nuevas alóctonas en Malvaceae para la flora africana del norte, con notas nomenclaturales

RESUMEN
Nuevas alóctonas en Malvaceae para la flora africana del norte, con notas nomenclaturales.— Como parte de los estudios en curso sobre las Malvaceae de Túnez, se descubrieron poblaciones de dos especies de Hibiscus (H. rosa-sinensis y H. syriacus) y de Lagunaria patersonia en el norte de Túnez, que representan los primeros registros de la flora nacional y norteafricana. Se describen caracteres morfológicos, así como datos ecológicos y corológicos. Se proporcionan notas nomenclaturales sobre los nombres H. acerifolius (= H. syriacus), H. chinensis (= H. syriacus), H. patersonius (basiónimo de L. patersonia) y H. rhombifolius (= H. syriacus), incluida la designación de holótipo para H. chinensis (ilustración de van Braam Houckgeest), y designación de lectótipos para H. acerifolius (una ilustración de Salisbury), H. rhombifolius (ilustración de Cavanilles) y H. patersonius (ilustración de Andrew). También se tratan otros nombres ilegítimos e inválidos (Althaea frutex, H. floridus, Ketmia syrorum, K. arborea y K. arborescens).
PALABRAS CLAVE: Hibiscus; Lagunaria; táxones no nativos; tipificación, Túnez.

CONTENIDOS

INTRODUCTIONTop

Malvaceae Juss. is a family of about 243 genera and over 4225 species, mainly distributed in tropical areas, but also occurring in temperate regions (Stevens, 2001–Stevens, P. F. 2001–. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb).

Many Malvaceae species are used for various purposes, such as natural fibers (e.g. cotton, genus Gossypium L.), ornamentals (e.g. genera Alcea L., Hibiscus L., Lavatera L.), foods (e.g. cacao, genus Theobroma L.), vegetable oils [e.g. from baobab (genus Adansonia L.)], beverages (e.g. colas, genus Cola Schott. & Endl.), timber (e.g. genus Tilia L.), medicinals [e.g. for the demulcent nature, genus Althaea L., or astringent (genus Hibiscus), or diuretic (genus Abutilon Mill.)] (see e.g. Mitchell, 1982Mitchell, A. S. 1982. Economic aspects of the Malvaceae in Australia. Economic Botany 36: 313–322. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858556; Forrest, 2006Forrest, M. 2006. Landscape trees and shrubs. Selection, use and management. Athenaeum Press, Gateshead. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781845930547.0000; Wakelyn et al., 2007Wakelyn, P. J., Bertoniere, N. R., French, A. D. et al. 2007. Cotton fibers. In: Lewin, M. (Ed.), Handbook of fiber chemistry (3^rd ed.). CRC Press, Boca Raton: 521–666.; Benchasri, 2012Benchasri, S. 2012. Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) as a valuable vegetable of the world. Ratarstvo i Povrtarstvo 49: 105–112. https://doi.org/10.5937/ratpov49-1172; Ogbu, 2014Ogbu, J. U. 2014. Aspects of fruit biology of three wild edible monkey kola species fruits (Cola spp.: Malvaceae). Annual Research & Review in Biology 4: 2007–2014. https://doi.org/10.9734/ARRB/2014/8066; Ţîţei & Teleuță, 2018Ţîţei, V. & Teleuță, A. 2018. Introduction and economical value of some species of the Malvaceae family in the Republic of Moldova. Agriculture for Life, Life for Agriculture, Conference Proceedings 1: 126–133. https://doi.org/10.2478/alife-2018-0019; Tumpa & Islam, 2019Tumpa, J. B. & Islam, M. S. 2019. A review study on different plants in Malvaceae family and their medicinal uses. American Journal of Biomedical Science & Research 3: AJBSR.MS.ID.000641. http://doi.org/10.34297/AJBSR.2019.03.000641). Some species are able to escape from cultivation, impacting both natural (loss of biodiversity) and agricultural (economically with reduction in productivity and crop quality) systems (Spencer, 1984Spencer, N. R. 1984. Velvetleaf, Abutilon theophrasti (Malvaceae), history and economic impact in the United States. Economic Botany 38: 407–416. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02859079; Pasiecznik, 2016Pasiecznik, N. 2016. Hibiscus tiliaceus (coast cottonwood). CABI. Invasive Species Compendium. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/27132).

As part of an ongoing study on the family Malvaceae (e.g. Iamonico, 2010Iamonico, D. 2010. Malva subovata subsp. bicolor, comb. & stat. nov. (Malvaceae). Annales Botanici Fennici 47: 312–314. https://doi.org/10.5735/085.047.0409, 2014aIamonico, D. 2014a. Lavatera stenopetala subsp. plazzae comb. et stat. nov. Plant Ecology and Evolution 147: 293–298. http://doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.2014.920, bIamonico, D. 2014b. (2261) Proposal to reject the name Lavatera micans (Malva micans) (Malvaceae). Taxon 63: 191. http://doi.org/10.12705/631.22, 2016Iamonico, D. 2016. Nomenclatural notes and morphological observations on Malva subovata s.l. (Malvaceae). Phytotaxa 275: 23–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.275.1.3, 2018Iamonico, D. 2018. Nomenclatural notes on some annual mallows (Malvaceae). Acta Botanica Croatica 77: 28–35. https://doi.org/10.1515/botcro-2017-0018; Iamonico & Peruzzi, 2014Iamonico, D. & Peruzzi, L. 2014. Typification of Linnaean names in Malvaceae for the Italian Flora. Taxon 63: 161−166. http://dx.doi.org/10.12705/631.11; Iamonico & Del Guacchio, 2017Iamonico, D. & Del Guacchio, E. 2017. Typification of the names in Malva cretica s.l. (Malvaceae). Phytotaxa 295: 280–286. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.295.3.9; Iamonico & Valdés, 2017Iamonico, D. & Valdés, B. 2017. Typification of Linnaean and Cavanilles names in the genus Malva (Malvaceae) for the Spanish flora. Taxon 66: 441–444. https://doi.org/10.12705/662.11) and the alien Flora of Tunisia (El Mokni & Iamonico 2017El Mokni, R. & Iamonico, D. 2017. Alcea setosa (Boiss.) Alef. In: Raab-Straube, E. von & Raus, Th. (Eds.), Euro+Med-Checklist Notulae 8. Willdenowia 47: 293–309. https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.47.47311, 2018aEl Mokni, R. & Iamonico, D. 2018a. A new record for the non-native flora of Tunisia, Eclipta prostrata (Ecliptinae, Asteraceae), and a note on the national status of Erigeron bonariensis, Lepidium didymum, and Symphyotrichum squamatum. Flora Mediterranea 28: 145–153. https://doi.org/10.7320/FlMedit28.145, bEl Mokni, R. & Iamonico, D. 2018b. Three new records of Senecioneae (Asteraceae) for the allochthonous Tunisian Flora. Flora Mediterranea 28: 385–392. https://doi.org/10.7320/FlMedit28.385, 2019El Mokni, R. & Iamonico, D. 2019. Bassia scoparia and Sesuvium portulacastrum, two new naturalised aliens to the Tunisian flora. Flora Mediterranea 29: 191–196. https://doi.org/10.7320/FlMedit29.191; Iamonico & El Mokni, 2017Iamonico, D. & El Mokni, R. 2017. Amaranthus palmeri, a second record for the African flora and notes on A. sonoriensis nom. nov. Bothalia 47: a2100. https://doi.org/10.4102/abc.v47i1.2100, 2019aIamonico, D. & El Mokni, R. 2019a. A new addition to the alien flora of Tunisia, Amaranthus spinosus L. (Amaranthaceae s.l.), with notes on A. diacanthus Raf. Acta Botanica Croatica 78: 91–94. https://doi.org/10.2478/botcro-2018-0009, bIamonico, D. & El Mokni, R. 2019b. On Atriplex canescens (Chenopodiaceae s. str./ Amaranthaceae s. l.) in Tunisia: nomenclatural and morphological notes on its infraspecific variability. Hacquetia 18: 119–127. https://doi.org/10.2478/hacq-2018-0008 ), field surveys allowed to find some populations of three Malvaceae species which were not previously reported from both the country and the whole of northern Africa [Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L., H. syriacus L., and Lagunaria patersonii (Andr.) G. Don]. Distribution of the African populations in Tunisia, and notes on their habitats are provided. The nomenclature of the untypified names Hibiscus acerifolius Salisb., H. chinensis DC., H. patersonius Andr., and H. rhombifolius Cav. is also discussed.

MATERIALS AND METHODSTop

The research is based on field surveys, analysis of relevant literature, and searching/examination of specimens preserved at BM, G, HFLA, MA, LINN, and P [herbarium codes following Thiers, 2020Thiers, B. 2020 (continuously udpated). Index Herbariorum: A global directory of public herbaria and associated staff. New York Botanical Garden’s Virtual Herbarium. Retrieved March 22, 2020, from http://sweetgum.nybg.org/ih (continuously updated)].

The Articles cited through the text follow the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Turland et al., 2018Turland, N. J., Wiersema, J. H., Barrie, F. R. et al. (Eds.) 2018. International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Shenzhen Code) (Regnum Vegetabile, 159). Koeltz Botanical Books, Glashütten. https://doi.org/10.12705/Code.2018, hereafter ICN).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONTop

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

The genus Hibiscus is represented in the flora of Tunisia by just one species, i.e. H. trionum L. (Le Floc’h et al., 2010Le Floc’h, E., Boulos, L. & Véla, E. 2010. Catalogue synonymique commenté de la flore de Tunisie. Ministère de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable et Banque Nationale de Gènes, Tunis.: 268; Valdés, 2011aValdés, B. 2011a. Malvaceae in Tunisia. Euro+Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/RegionalTaxon.asp?PTNameFK=25795&PTRefFk=7100000&Name=Malvaceae). Five Hibiscus species (H. micranthus L. f., H. palustris L., H. sabdariffa L., H. trionum L., and H. vitifolius L.) are currently recorded in North Africa (Valdés, 2011bValdés, B. 2011b. Hibiscus L. Euro+Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/PTaxonDetail.asp?NameId=25720&PTRefFk=7100000; SANBI, 2012SANBI [The South African National Biodiversity Institute] 2012. Hibiscus L. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/details.php?langue=an&id=191402 and literature therein). Our finding of H. rosa-sinensis L. represents the first record for both the Tunisian and the North African floras.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L., Sp. Pl. 2: 694 (1753) (Fig. 1A).

Lectotype (designated by Borssum Waalkes, 1966Borssum Waalkes, J. van 1966. Malesian Malvaceae revised. Blumea 14: 1–213.: 72): Herb. Hermann 3: 4, No. 260 (BM, barcode BM-000621802 [photo!], image available at https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/a481219f-0364-42d4-8b9c-ddb192d0ef11/1587427200000).

Habitat in Tunisia: sidewalks in urban areas.

Elevation: 5 m a.s.l.

Distribution in Tunisia: we found one population at Bizerta-City (NE-Tunisia) comprising five individuals which occupy an area of about 21 m². At the current state of knowledge, we tentatively consider Hibiscus rosa-sinensis as casual alien species for Tunisia and North Africa. No seedlings were observed.

Chorology: the origin of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is unknown, but it could have originated in China (Tang et al., 2007Tang, Y., Gilbert, M. G. & Dorr, L. J. 2007. Malvaceae Juss. In: Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H. & Hong, D. Y. (Eds.), Flora of China 12. Science Press & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing & St. Louis: 264–298.). It has also been thought to have originated in Africa (Borssum Waalkes, 1966Borssum Waalkes, J. van 1966. Malesian Malvaceae revised. Blumea 14: 1–213.) or the New World Tropics (Prendergast, 1982Prendergast, H. D. V. 1982. Pollination of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. Biotropica 14: 287. https://doi.org/10.2307/2388087). However, since H. rosa-sinensis includes a wealth of hybrids and other selections and has a complicated history in cultivation, its origin remains uncertain at present (Tang et al., 2007Tang, Y., Gilbert, M. G. & Dorr, L. J. 2007. Malvaceae Juss. In: Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H. & Hong, D. Y. (Eds.), Flora of China 12. Science Press & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing & St. Louis: 264–298.; Braglia et al., 2010Braglia, L., Bruna, S., Lanteri, S., Mercuri, A. & Portis, E. 2010. An AFLP-based assessment of the genetic diversity within Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and its place within the Hibiscus genus complex. Scientia Horticulturae 123: 372–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2009.10.003). This species is considered as alien in Asia (Tang et al., 2007Tang, Y., Gilbert, M. G. & Dorr, L. J. 2007. Malvaceae Juss. In: Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H. & Hong, D. Y. (Eds.), Flora of China 12. Science Press & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing & St. Louis: 264–298.; Valdés, 2011bValdés, B. 2011b. Hibiscus L. Euro+Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/PTaxonDetail.asp?NameId=25720&PTRefFk=7100000), Europe (only in Italy, in Sardinia region; Galasso et al., 2018Galasso, G., Bartolucci, F., Peruzzi, L. et al. 2018. An updated checklist of the vascular flora alien to Italy. Plant Biosystems 152: 556−592. https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2018.1441197), Central and South America (Blanchard, 2015Blanchard, P. J. 2015. Hibiscus L. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Eds.), Flora of North America North of Mexico (Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae) 6. Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford: 252–267.), and eastern Australia (Atlas of Living Australia, 2020aAtlas of Living Australia 2020a. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://bie.ala.org.au/species/, https://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2917642#overview).

Notes on cultivar name: Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is widely cultivated as ornamental plant and many cultivars were created (The American Hibiscus Society, 2016The American Hibiscus Society 2016. American Hibiscus Society. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from http://americanhibiscus.org). A recent molecular study on 47 cultivars (Braglia et al., 2010Braglia, L., Bruna, S., Lanteri, S., Mercuri, A. & Portis, E. 2010. An AFLP-based assessment of the genetic diversity within Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and its place within the Hibiscus genus complex. Scientia Horticulturae 123: 372–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2009.10.003) showed that there are few differences among them using DNA sequences, although some clusters were moderately to highly supported (bootstrap values > 80). It is difficult to identify the variety/cultivar. On the basis of the size and color of corollas, Tunisian plant can be referred to the cultivar ‘Leuchtfeuer’ (Braglia et al., 2010Braglia, L., Bruna, S., Lanteri, S., Mercuri, A. & Portis, E. 2010. An AFLP-based assessment of the genetic diversity within Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and its place within the Hibiscus genus complex. Scientia Horticulturae 123: 372–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2009.10.003).

Specimina visa from Tunisia: Tunisia, Bizerta, Bizerta-South, sidewalks near public gardens, 5 m a.s.l., 6.III.2020, El Mokni & Iamonico s.n. (Herb. Univ. Monastir!); ibidem (HFLA!).

Figure 1. (A) Hibiscus rosa-sinensis; (B) Hibiscus syriacus (photographs by R. El Mokni). [View full size] [Descargar tamaño completo]

Hibiscus syriacus

As already stated above (see under the paragraph “Hibiscus rosa-sinensis”) the occurrence of Hibiscus syriacus is here recorded for the first time in both Tunisia and the whole of northern Africa (Le Floc’h et al., 2010Le Floc’h, E., Boulos, L. & Véla, E. 2010. Catalogue synonymique commenté de la flore de Tunisie. Ministère de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable et Banque Nationale de Gènes, Tunis.: 268; Valdés, 2011aValdés, B. 2011a. Malvaceae in Tunisia. Euro+Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/RegionalTaxon.asp?PTNameFK=25795&PTRefFk=7100000&Name=Malvaceae; SANBI, 2012SANBI [The South African National Biodiversity Institute] 2012. Hibiscus L. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/details.php?langue=an&id=191402 and literature therein).

Hibiscus syriacus L., Sp. Pl. 2: 695 (1753) ≡ Ketmia syriaca (L.) Scop., Fl. Carniol. (ed. 2) 2: 45 (1772) ≡ K. syrorum Medik., Malvenfam.: 45 (1787), nom. superfl. et illeg.[1] (Art. 52.2 of ICN) ≡ H. arborescens Gatereau, Descr. Pl. Montauban 122 (1789), nom. superfl. et illeg.[2] (Art. 52.2 of ICN) ≡ K. arborea Moench, Methodus: 617 (1794), nom. superfl. et illeg.[3] (Art. 52.2 of ICN) ≡ H. floridus Salisb., Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton: 383 (1796), nom. superfl. et illeg.[4] (Art. 52.2 of ICN) (Fig. 1B).

Lectotype (designated by Abedin, 1979Abedin, S. 1979. Malvaceae Juss. In: Nasir, E. & Ali, S. I. (Eds.), Flora of West Pakistan 130. Ferozsons Press, Rawalpindi: 1–98.: 13): Herb. Linn. 875.24 (LINN [photo!], image available at http://linnean-online.org/6872/).

= Hibiscus rhombifolius Cav., Diss. 3, Tertia Diss. Bot.: 156 (1787)

Lectotype (designated here): [Icon] Tab. LXIX f. 3 Hibiscus rhombifolius in Cavanilles (1787Cavanilles, A. J. 1787. Monoadelphiae classis dissertations decem. Ex Typographia Regia, Madrid.), image of lectotype available at https://archive.org/details/monadelphiaeclas14cava/page/n363/mode/2up/search/LXIX).

= Hibiscus acerifolius Salisb., Parad. Lond. 1: Tab. 33 (1805).

Lectotype (designated here): [Icon] Tab. 33 Hibiscus acerifolius in Salisbury (1805Salisbury, R. A. 1805. The paradisus londinensis 1. D. N. Shury, London.), image of lectotype available at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36898142#page/70/mode/1up).

= Hibiscus chinensis DC., Prodr. 1: 455 (1824), nom. illeg. (Art. 53.1 of ICN) non H. chinensis Roxb.

Holotype: [Icon] Tab. 24 in van Braam Houckgeest (1821Braam Houckgeest, A. E. van 1821. Icones plantarum sponte China nascentium, e bibliotheca braamiana excerptae. J. H. Bothe, London.), image of lectotype available at https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b7300008x/f53.item).

– Althaea frutex Mill., Gard. Dict., ed. 8. (1768), nom. inval. pro syn. of Hibiscus syriacus (Art. 36.1b of ICN).

Habitat in Tunisia: foots of walls of an ancient building.

Elevation: 35 m a.s.l.

Distribution in Tunisia: one population was found at Lahouemdeya (Tabarka, Jendouba, NW-Tunisia) which comprises six individuals occupying an area of about 3 m². At the current state of knowledge, we tentatively consider Hibiscus syriacus as casual alien species for Tunisia and North Africa. No seedlings were observed.

Chorology: Hibiscus syriacus is native to China (Provinces of Anhui, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, and Zhejiang) but it was taken into cultivation very early and was distributed to the Middle East where it is considered as alien (Tang et al., 2007Tang, Y., Gilbert, M. G. & Dorr, L. J. 2007. Malvaceae Juss. In: Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H. & Hong, D. Y. (Eds.), Flora of China 12. Science Press & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing & St. Louis: 264–298.). This species is also naturalised in Europe (France, Italy, Hungary, Serbia, and Greece; Valdés, 2011bValdés, B. 2011b. Hibiscus L. Euro+Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/PTaxonDetail.asp?NameId=25720&PTRefFk=7100000), North America (eastern USA.; Swearingen & Bargeron, 2016Swearingen, J. & Bargeron, C. 2016. Hibiscus syriacus L. Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States. University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.invasiveplantatlas.org/subject.html?sub=5724), and southeastern Australia (Atlas of Living Australia, 2020bAtlas of Living Australia 2020b. Hibiscus syriacus L. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://bie.ala.org.au/species/NZOR-6-18331).

Typification of the name Hibiscus rhombifolius: Cavanilles (1787Cavanilles, A. J. 1787. Monoadelphiae classis dissertations decem. Ex Typographia Regia, Madrid.: 156) validly published H. rhombifolius through a detailed description, the provenance (“Habitat in India orientali”) and the following statement: “V. S. [Vidi Siccam] unicum exemplar apud D. de Lamarck ex collectis sonneratianis”. The latter sentence indicates that J. A. Cavanilles has seen a single specimen collected by P. Sonnerat (1748–1814), a French naturalist and explorer (Stafleu & Cowan, 1985Stafleu, F. A. & Cowan, R. S. 1985. Taxonomic Literature 5 (Sal–Ste) (2nd ed.). Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema, Utrecht.: 744). However, we cannot consider it as the holotype of the name Hibiscus rhombifolius since Cavanilles (loc. cit.) also published an illustration (“Tab. LXIX, fig. 3”) which is part of the original material for the name Hibiscus rhombifolius (see Arts. 9.1 and 9.4 of ICN). As a consequence, a lectotypification is necessary (Art. 9.3 of ICN). Sonnerat’s collection is preserved at P (Stafleu & Cowan, 1985Stafleu, F. A. & Cowan, R. S. 1985. Taxonomic Literature 5 (Sal–Ste) (2nd ed.). Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema, Utrecht.: 744). In the online database of the P herbarium (see https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/p00287601) appears a record form referring to a specimen of H. rhombifolius (P00287601) which would be included in the Historical Collection of Paris Herbarium. This specimen was identified by J. van Borssum Waalkes (April 1959) as H. syriacus and marked by him as “ISOTYPE” according to the record form. There also is a later annotation (“Type”) by S. Doorenbos (in 2013). Since no image of P00287601 is available on line, we requested it but we have not received a reply. Fortunately, the Cavanilles’ illustration, which morphologically matches the original description of H. rhombifolius, can be used to fix the name and it is here designated as the lectotype. According to the current concept in Hibiscus (see e.g. Tang et al., 2007Tang, Y., Gilbert, M. G. & Dorr, L. J. 2007. Malvaceae Juss. In: Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H. & Hong, D. Y. (Eds.), Flora of China 12. Science Press & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing & St. Louis: 264–298.; Blanchard, 2015Blanchard, P. J. 2015. Hibiscus L. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Eds.), Flora of North America North of Mexico (Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae) 6. Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford: 252–267.) the lectotype of H. rhombifolius can be identified with H. syriacus and the two names are considered as heterotypic synonyms.

Typification of the name Hibiscus acerifolius: Salisbury (1805Salisbury, R. A. 1805. The paradisus londinensis 1. D. N. Shury, London.: without pagination) validly described H. acerifolius by giving a short diagnosis and a detailed description highlighting the species is “very distinct ... from the Syriacus of Linneé, in which the leaves are wedge-shaped at the base with much shorter petioles”. Salisbury (loc. cit.) also provided a colored illustration which is original material. We have not been able to trace specimens of orginal material and, as a consequence, we are forced to designate the Salisbury’s illustration no. 33 as the lectotype of the name Hibiscus acerifolius. Note that this image matches the Salisbury’s diagnosis and description. According to the current concept in Hibiscus (see e.g. Tang et al., 2007Tang, Y., Gilbert, M. G. & Dorr, L. J. 2007. Malvaceae Juss. In: Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H. & Hong, D. Y. (Eds.), Flora of China 12. Science Press & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing & St. Louis: 264–298.; Blanchard, 2015Blanchard, P. J. 2015. Hibiscus L. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Eds.), Flora of North America North of Mexico (Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae) 6. Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford: 252–267.) the lectotype of H. acerifolius can be identified with H. syriacus and the two names are here synonymzed.

Type of the name Hibiscus chinensis: Candolle (1824Candolle, A. P. de 1824. Prodromus systematis regni vegetabilis 1. Treuttel et Würz, Strasbourg & London.: 455) validly described H. chinensis providing a short diagnosis and citing as synonym “Braam. ic. chin. 1821. t. 24” which refers to Icones plantarum sponte China nascentium, e bibliotheca braamiana excerptae by Braam Houckgeest (1821Braam Houckgeest, A. E. van 1821. Icones plantarum sponte China nascentium, e bibliotheca braamiana excerptae. J. H. Bothe, London.). Braam’s illustration (t. 24) is original material for the name. Note that Candolle (loc. cit.) did not reported “v. s.” (vidi siccam) under H. chinensis, which would have indicated that he examined herbarium specimens (see the Prefatio by Candolle 1824Candolle, A. P. de 1824. Prodromus systematis regni vegetabilis 1. Treuttel et Würz, Strasbourg & London.: vi). Moreover, no specimen was found by us. According to the Art. 9.1 of ICN and the considerations by McNeill (2014McNeill, J. 2014. Holotype specimens and type citations: General issues. Taxon 63: 1112–1113. https://doi.org/10.12705/635.7), the image no. 24 of Braam Houckgeest (1821Braam Houckgeest, A. E. van 1821. Icones plantarum sponte China nascentium, e bibliotheca braamiana excerptae. J. H. Bothe, London.) can be considered as the holotype of the name H. chinensis. According to the current concept in Hibiscus (see e.g. Tang et al., 2007Tang, Y., Gilbert, M. G. & Dorr, L. J. 2007. Malvaceae Juss. In: Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H. & Hong, D. Y. (Eds.), Flora of China 12. Science Press & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing & St. Louis: 264–298.; Blanchard, 2015Blanchard, P. J. 2015. Hibiscus L. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Eds.), Flora of North America North of Mexico (Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae) 6. Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford: 252–267.) this holotype can be identified with H. syriacus and the two names are here synonymzed.

Taxonomic notes on the infraspecific variability: Hibiscus syriacus is a very popular frost-hardy flowering shrub commonly used as ornamental plant in gardens and public green (e.g. as street trees) and many cultivars have been developed, some of which have been given formal scientific names. According to Tang et al. (2007Tang, Y., Gilbert, M. G. & Dorr, L. J. 2007. Malvaceae Juss. In: Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H. & Hong, D. Y. (Eds.), Flora of China 12. Science Press & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing & St. Louis: 264–298.) these varieties can be distinguished on the basis of flowers arrangement (solitary or double), the diameter of the corollas, and the color of the petals. The Tunisian plants have solitary flowers, 5–6 cm in diameter, lavender or violet with a darkred center which would correspond to the var. grandiflorus Rehder.

Specimina visa from Tunisia: Tunisia, Jendouba, Lahouemdeya, Tabarka, 35 m a.s.l., 30.IX.2015, El Mokni & Iamonico s.n. (Herb. Univ. Monastir!); ibidem (HFLA!).

Lagunaria patersonia

Lagunaria patersonia is currently recorded in Africa only in Kenya (Lebrun & Stork, 1991Lebrun, J. P. & Stork, A. L. 1991. Enumération des plantes à fleurs d’Afrique tropicale. Généralités et Annonaceae à Pandanaceae 1. Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève, Genève.), and South Africa (Coyne, 2011Coyne, P. 2011. Norfolk Island’s fascinating flora. Petaurus Press, Belconnen.). Our finding represents the first record for both the Tunisian and the North African floras.

Lagunaria patersonia (Andr.) G. Don, Gen. Hist. 1: 485 (1831Don, G. 1831. A General history of the dichlamydeous plants 1―Thalamiflorae. J. G. and F. Rivington & al., London., as “patersonii”) ≡ Hibiscus patersonius Andr., Bot. Repos. 4: t. 286 (1803) [basionym] (Fig. 2).

Lectotype (designated here): [Icon] Plate CCLXXXVI Hibiscus patersonius in Andrews (1803Andrews, H. C. 1803. Botanist’s repository, for new and rare plants 4. T. Bensley, London.), image of lectotype available at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/109451#page/144/mode/1up).

Habitat in Tunisia: sidewalks in urban area.

Elevation: 5–15 m a.s.l.

Distribution in Tunisia: two populations were found at Ariana-City and Bizerta-North (NE-Tunisia). The first population comprises five individuals which occupy an area of about 24 m², the second population includes three individuals occupying an area about 16 m². At the current state of knowledge, we tentatively consider Lagunaria patersonia as casual alien species for Tunisia and North Africa. No seedlings were observed.

Figure 2. Lagunaria patersonia: (A), flowers; (B) fruits (photographs by R. El Mokni). [View full size] [Descargar tamaño completo]

Chorology: Lagunaria patersonia is native to the Pacific Islands (Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island) and Australia (Queensland and New South Wales) and it is alien in America [San Diego County (Hanes, 2015Hanes, M. M. 2015. Malvaceae Juss. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Eds.), Flora of North America North of Mexico (Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae) 6. Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford: 187–315.), California (Calflora, 2020Calflora 2020. Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals, including the Consortium of California Herbaria. Lagunaria patersonia (Andr.) G.Don. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from https://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=10936), and Hawaii islands (Coyne, 2011Coyne, P. 2011. Norfolk Island’s fascinating flora. Petaurus Press, Belconnen.)], Australia [south-east (Jessop & Toelken, 1986Jessop, J. P. & Toelken, H. R. (Eds.) 1986. Flora of South Australia 4 (2nd ed). South Australian Government Printing Division, Adelaide.; Atlas of Living Australia, 2020cAtlas of Living Australia 2020c. Lagunaria patersonia (Andr.) G. Don. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2907714#overview) and New Zealand (Coyne, 2011Coyne, P. 2011. Norfolk Island’s fascinating flora. Petaurus Press, Belconnen.; New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, 2020New Zealand Plant Conservation Network 2020. Lagunaria patersonia (Andr.) G.Don. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from http://nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=4376)], Europe [e.g. in Portugal (Almeida & Freitas, 2006Almeida, J. D. de & Freitas, H. 2006. Exotic naturalized flora of continental Portugal – A reassessment. Botanica Complutensis 30: 117–130.) and Sicily (La Mantia et al., 2015La Mantia, T., Badalamenti, E. & Pasta, S. 2015. Un nuovo caso di spontaneizzazione incipiente: Lagunaria patersonia (Andrews) G. Don (Malvaceae) in Sicilia. Naturalista Siciliano 39: 427–431.)], Africa [Kenya (Lebrun & Stork, 1991Lebrun, J. P. & Stork, A. L. 1991. Enumération des plantes à fleurs d’Afrique tropicale. Généralités et Annonaceae à Pandanaceae 1. Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève, Genève.), and South Africa (Coyne, 2011Coyne, P. 2011. Norfolk Island’s fascinating flora. Petaurus Press, Belconnen.)].

Typification of Hibiscus patersonius: The name Hibiscus patersonius was validly published by Andrews (1803Andrews, H. C. 1803. Botanist’s repository, for new and rare plants 4. T. Bensley, London.) who provided a diagnosis and a detailed and colored illustration (Plate CCLXXXVI) that is part of the original material used by Andrews (loc. cit.) to describe the species. Stafleu & Cowan (1976Stafleu, F. A. & Cowan, R. S. 1976. Taxonomic Literature 1 (A–G) (2nd ed.). Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema, Utrecht.: 49) stated that H. C. Andrews (1799–1830), a botanical painter and engraver, prepared his illustrations based on living plants and no herbarium specimens are known to exist. However, Andrews (loc. cit.) stated “Our figure is from a specimen received from the Right Hon. Lord Viscount Courtenay, in whose collection at Powderham, near Exeter...”. As a consequence, the Andrews’ t. 286 can not be considered as the holotype (see Arts. 9.1 and 8.4 and the consideration by McNeill, 2014McNeill, J. 2014. Holotype specimens and type citations: General issues. Taxon 63: 1112–1113. https://doi.org/10.12705/635.7), but it is available as a possible lectotype. The Courtenay’s specimen cited by Andrews (loc. cit.) in the protologue was not found. As a consequence, the Plate CCLXXXVI, which matches the diagnosis and corresponds to the current concept of the species (see e.g. Hanes, 2015Hanes, M. M. 2015. Malvaceae Juss. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Eds.), Flora of North America North of Mexico (Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae) 6. Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford: 187–315.), is here designated as the lectotype of the name H. patersonius.

Taxonomic notes: Craven et al. (2006Craven, L. A., Miller, C. & White, R. G. 2006. A new name, and notes on extra-floral nectaries, in Lagunaria (Malvaceae, Malvoideae). Blumea 51: 35–353. https://doi.org/10.3767/000651906X622283) treated the populations occurring in Queensland at species rank, naming them as Lagunaria queenslandica Craven (in Craven et al., 2006Craven, L. A., Miller, C. & White, R. G. 2006. A new name, and notes on extra-floral nectaries, in Lagunaria (Malvaceae, Malvoideae). Blumea 51: 35–353. https://doi.org/10.3767/000651906X622283: 352). This species was said to differ from L. patersonia by the lenght of the petals (47–58 mm vs. 40–46 mm), lenght of the staminal column (40–62 mm vs. 30–36 mm), and lenght of the antheriferous part (8–13 mm vs. 13–20 mm). The populations discovered in Tunisia display morphological characteristics that match those of L. patersonia.

Specimina visa from Tunisia: Tunisia, Ariana, Ariana-City, near public gardens, 6 m a.s.l., 5.XII.2018, El Mokni & Iamonico s.n. (Herb. Univ. Monastir!); ibidem (HFLA!); ibidem, 8.III.2020 (Herb. Univ. Monastir!); Bizerta, Bizerta-North, sidewalks near public gardens, 15 m a.s.l., 5.III.2020 (Herb. Univ. Monastir!).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSTop

Thanks are due to the staff of all the herbaria cited.

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