ARTÍCULO

Effective typification of the Linnaean name Thymus pulegioides (Lamiaceae)

P. P. FERRER-GALLEGO

Servicio de Vida Silvestre, Centro para la Investigación y la Experimentación Forestal de la Generalitat Valenciana (CIEF), av. Comarques del País Valencià, 114, ES-46930 Quart de Poblet, Valencia, España

ORCID iD. P. P. Ferrer-Gallego: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7595-9302

Author for correspondence: P. P. Ferrer-Gallego (flora.cief@gva.es)

Editor: N. Ibáñez

ABSTRACT
Effective typification of the Linnaean name Thymus pulegioides (Lamiaceae).— The typification of the Linnaean name Thymus pulegioides (Lamiaceae) is revised. This name had previously been “lectotypified” by Mártonfi in 1997 from a specimen kept at the herbarium LINN (Herb. Linnaeus No. 38.6). However, Linnaeus cited a specimen of Sauvages in the protologue, currently preserved in the herbarium LINN (Herb. Linnaeus No. 38.5). Therefore, in lectotype designation this specimen must be chosen according to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Art. 9.12 of the Shenzhen Code of 2018).
KEY WORDS: Labiatae; lectotype; Linnaeus; nomenclature; syntype.

RESUMEN
Tipificación efectiva del nombre linneano Thymus pulegioides (Lamiaceae).— Se revisa la tipificación del nombre de Linneo Thymus pulegioides (Lamiaceae). Este nombre fue previamente “lectotipificado” por Mártonfi en 1997 a partir de un espécimen conservado en el herbario LINN (Herb. Linnaeus No. 38.6). Sin embargo, Linneo citó un espécimen de Sauvages en el protólogo, en la actualidad conservado en LINN (Herb. Linnaeus No. 38.5). Por lo tanto, en la designación del lectotipo debe elegirse este espécimen de acuerdo con el Código Internacional de Nomenclatura para algas, hongos y plantas (Art. 9.12 del Código de Shenzhen de 2018).
PALABRAS CLAVE: Labiatae; lectotipo; Linneo; nomenclatura; sintipo.

CONTENIDOS

INTRODUCTION AND TYPIFICATION OF THE NAMETop

Thymus pulegioides L. (sect. Serpyllum (Miller) Benth.; Lamiaceae) is a highly polymorphic and widespread species distributed across to temperate parts of Europe (Jalas & Kaleva, 1970Jalas, J. & Kaleva, K. 1970. Supraspezifische Gliederung und Verbreitungstypen in der Gattung Thymus L. (Labiatae). Feddes Repertorium 81: 93–106. https://doi.org/10.1002/fedr.4910810108; Jalas, 1972Jalas, J. 1972. Thymus L. In: Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A. (Eds.), Flora Europaea 3. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 172–182., 1974Jalas, J. 1974. Notes on Thymus L. (Labiatae) in Europe: III. Annales Botanici Fennici 11: 262–266.; Ložiene, 2006Ložiene, K. 2006. Instability of morphological features used for classification of Thymus pulegioides infraspecific taxa. Acta Botanica Hungarica 48: 345–360. https://doi.org/10.1556/ABot.48.2006.3-4.9; Morales, 2010Morales, R. 2010. Thymus L. In: Morales, R., Quintanar, A., Cabezas, F., Pujadas, A. J. & Cirujano, S. (Ed.), Flora iberica 12. Real Jardín Botánico (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Madrid: 349–409.).

As part of taxonomic and nomenclatural studies of the genus Thymus L. for the Valencian flora (see Ferrer-Gallego et al., 2013Ferrer-Gallego, P. P., Navarro, A., Laguna, E. & Mateo, G. 2013. Thymus vulgaris subsp. mansanetianus subsp. nov. (Lamiaceae). Flora Montiberica 54: 144–149., 2019Ferrer-Gallego, P. P., Navarro, A., Pérez, P. & Laguna, E. 2019. Dos nuevos híbridos en el género Thymus L. (Lamiaceae). Flora Montiberica 75: 15–23.; Pedauyé et al., 2016Pedauyé, H., Perales, P. & Ferrer-Gallego, P. P. 2016. Thymus ×alcarazii, nothosp. nov. (Pseudothymbra Benth., Lamiaceae) un nuevo híbrido para la flora Murciano-Almeriense (España). Boletín de la Real Sociedad Española de Historia Natural. Sección biológica 110: 53–60.; Ferrer-Gallego, 2019Ferrer-Gallego, P. P. 2019. (2672) Proposal to reject the name Thymus cephalotos (Lamiaceae). Taxon 68: 168–169. https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.12008), the original material and typification of the name Thymus pulegioides has been studied. The nomenclatural type of T. pulegioides has been recently discussed by Nachychko & Sosnovsky (2020Nachychko, V. O. & Sosnovsky, Y. V. 2020. What is the lectotype of the Linnaean name Thymus pulegioides (Lamiaceae)? Willdenowia 50: 23–27. https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50103). However, a new interpretation of the Linnaeus original material should be made for effective typification of the name.

Linnaeus (1753Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species plantarum 1–2. L. Salvius, Stockholm. : 592) described Thymus pulegioides providing a short diagnosis “THYMUS ramis verticillatis longis, foliis ovalibus striatis”, followed by the synonym “Acinos thymi folio & facie, floribus inexpansis” cited from Morison (1699Morison, R. 1699. Plantarum historiae universalis Oxoniensis pars tertia. Theathro Sheldoniano, Oxford.: 404, s. 11, t. 19, f. 6). The protologue also includes “Habitat Monspelii. D. Sauvages”, and a description “Habitus Melissae pulegioidis f. Mentha pulegii, at Cacyces bilabiati a Satureja, ore barbati a Melissa & Mentha eam distinguunt. Caulis spithamens, erectus. Rami pauci, simplices, breves. Folia ovalia, obtuse, glabra, subtus striata. Rami & plantae maxima pars verticillis obvallata”. The reference quoted by Linnaeus (Morison, 1699Morison, R. 1699. Plantarum historiae universalis Oxoniensis pars tertia. Theathro Sheldoniano, Oxford.) includes an illustration that can be considered as original material.

Several authors (e.g. Ronniger, 1924Ronniger, K. 1924. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Gattung Thymus. I: 1. Die britischen Arten und Formen. Repertorium Specierum Novarum Regni Vegetabilis 20: 321–332. https://doi.org/10.1002/fedr.19240200618, 1944Ronniger, K. 1944. Bestimmungstabelle für die Thymus Arten des Deutschen Reiches. Deutsche Heilpflanze 10(5) [Heilpflanzen-Schriftenreihe 18]: 1–24.; Klokov, 1954Klokov, M. V. 1954. Thymus L. In: Schischkin, B. K. (Ed.), Флора СССР [Flora of the USSR] 21. Издательство Академии наук СССР [Publishers of Academy of Sciences of the USSR], Moscow & Leningrad: 470–591.; Menitsky, 1978Menitsky, L. 1978. Thymus L. In: Fedorov, A. (Ed.), Флора европейской части СССР [Flora of the European part of USSR] 3. Nauka, Leningrad: 191–204., Mártonfi, 1997Mártonfi, P. 1997. Nomenclatural survey of the genus Thymus sect. Serpyllum from Carpathians and Pannonia. Thaiszia 7: 111–181. ; Jarvis 2007Jarvis, C. E. 2007. Order out of chaos. Linnaean plant names and their types. Linnean Society of London & Natural History Museum, London.; Nachychko & Sosnovsky, 2020Nachychko, V. O. & Sosnovsky, Y. V. 2020. What is the lectotype of the Linnaean name Thymus pulegioides (Lamiaceae)? Willdenowia 50: 23–27. https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50103) mentioned that there are at least two specimens at LINN (Herb. Linnaeus Nos. 38.5 and 38.6) that can be treated as Linnaeus’ original material of T. pulegioides. The sheet No. 38.5 LINN bears a stem, with leaves and flowers, and is annotated “Monsp.” [Monspeliensis] and “8” (the number in the Species Plantarum for Thymus pulegioides) by Linnaeus, and “thymoides / Thymus pulegioides Sp. Pl. 1. No. 8” by James Edward Smith (image available at http://linnean-online.org/153). On the other hand, the sheet No. 38.6 LINN bears a stem, with leaves and flowers, and is annotated “Satureja”, “thymoides”, and “8” by Linnaeus (image available at http://linnean-online.org/154).

According to Jarvis (2007Jarvis, C. E. 2007. Order out of chaos. Linnaean plant names and their types. Linnean Society of London & Natural History Museum, London.), the “lectotype” was “effectively” designated by Ronniger (1944Ronniger, K. 1944. Bestimmungstabelle für die Thymus Arten des Deutschen Reiches. Deutsche Heilpflanze 10(5) [Heilpflanzen-Schriftenreihe 18]: 1–24.: 37) from the specimen Herb. Linnaeus No. 38.5 (LINN), and this viewpoint was subsequently adopted by modern monographers of Thymus (e.g. Morales, 2010Morales, R. 2010. Thymus L. In: Morales, R., Quintanar, A., Cabezas, F., Pujadas, A. J. & Cirujano, S. (Ed.), Flora iberica 12. Real Jardín Botánico (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Madrid: 349–409.; Bartolucci et al., 2013Bartolucci, F., Peruzzi, L. & Passalacqua, N. 2013. Typification of names and taxonomic notes within the genus Thymus L. (Lamiaceae). Taxon 62: 1308–1314. https://doi.org/10.12705/626.1; Knyasev, 2015Knyasev, M. S. 2015. Обзор видов рода Thymus (Lamiaceae) в Восточной Европе и на Урале [The survey of East European and Ural species of the genus Thymus (Lamiaceae)]. Botanicheskii Zhurnal (Moscow & Leningrad) 100: 114–141. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006813615020027; Nachychko et al., 2019Nachychko, V. O., Gamulya, Yu., G. & Sosnovsky, Y. V. 2019. Typification of four names in Thymus (Lamiaceae) based on material from the Herbarium of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (CWU). Phytotaxa 409: 71–82. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.409.2.3). However, recently Nachychko & Sosnovsky (2020Nachychko, V. O. & Sosnovsky, Y. V. 2020. What is the lectotype of the Linnaean name Thymus pulegioides (Lamiaceae)? Willdenowia 50: 23–27. https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50103) conclude that the publication of Ronniger (1944Ronniger, K. 1944. Bestimmungstabelle für die Thymus Arten des Deutschen Reiches. Deutsche Heilpflanze 10(5) [Heilpflanzen-Schriftenreihe 18]: 1–24.) is not the place of effective designation of the lectotype of T. pulegioides. Ronniger (1944Ronniger, K. 1944. Bestimmungstabelle für die Thymus Arten des Deutschen Reiches. Deutsche Heilpflanze 10(5) [Heilpflanzen-Schriftenreihe 18]: 1–24.) used the following phrase: “Die Originalpflanze liegt im Herbar Linné heute noch aufbewahrt” [The original plant is still preserved today in the Linnaean Herbarium]. In this sense, according to Nachychko & Sosnovsky (2020Nachychko, V. O. & Sosnovsky, Y. V. 2020. What is the lectotype of the Linnaean name Thymus pulegioides (Lamiaceae)? Willdenowia 50: 23–27. https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50103), the Ronniger’s (1944Ronniger, K. 1944. Bestimmungstabelle für die Thymus Arten des Deutschen Reiches. Deutsche Heilpflanze 10(5) [Heilpflanzen-Schriftenreihe 18]: 1–24.) term “Originalpflanze” meant “original specimen” and was not intended as an equivalent of the term “type” (typus). Therefore, according to Art. 7.11 of the Shenzhen Code (see 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.) in its strict interpretation (see, e.g. Ex. 12), an equivalent of the term “type” must be one of its “linguistic equivalents” (in German: “Typus” or “Typ”), none of which was used by Ronniger (1944Ronniger, K. 1944. Bestimmungstabelle für die Thymus Arten des Deutschen Reiches. Deutsche Heilpflanze 10(5) [Heilpflanzen-Schriftenreihe 18]: 1–24.) (see Nachychko & Sosnovsky, 2020Nachychko, V. O. & Sosnovsky, Y. V. 2020. What is the lectotype of the Linnaean name Thymus pulegioides (Lamiaceae)? Willdenowia 50: 23–27. https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50103).

On the other hand, Mártonfi (1997Mártonfi, P. 1997. Nomenclatural survey of the genus Thymus sect. Serpyllum from Carpathians and Pannonia. Thaiszia 7: 111–181. : 158), and later Nachychko & Sosnovsky (2020Nachychko, V. O. & Sosnovsky, Y. V. 2020. What is the lectotype of the Linnaean name Thymus pulegioides (Lamiaceae)? Willdenowia 50: 23–27. https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50103: 25), treated the specimen Herb. Linnaeus No. 38.6 (LINN) as “lectotype” of T. pulegioides. However, Linnaeus explicitly cited a gathering in the protologue, with a specific locality and author, as “Habitat in Monspelii. D. Sauvages” (see Shenzhen Code Art. 40 Note 1 and Note 2), identifiable as a specific specimen currently preserved at LINN herbarium (No. 38.5 LINN). Therefore, unfortunately, the “typification” of Mártonfi (1997Mártonfi, P. 1997. Nomenclatural survey of the genus Thymus sect. Serpyllum from Carpathians and Pannonia. Thaiszia 7: 111–181. ), supported by Nachychko & Sosnovsky (2020Nachychko, V. O. & Sosnovsky, Y. V. 2020. What is the lectotype of the Linnaean name Thymus pulegioides (Lamiaceae)? Willdenowia 50: 23–27. https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50103), is ineffective according to Art. 9.12 of the ICN (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.).

According to Jarvis (2007Jarvis, C. E. 2007. Order out of chaos. Linnaean plant names and their types. Linnean Society of London & Natural History Museum, London.: 226), Sauvages[1] gave his herbarium of plants from southern France to Linnaeus in 1749. Although not all of the plants carry Sauvage’s labels, it seems clear that in many cases [see e.g. No. 290.12 (LINN) as the lectotype of Illecebrum cymosum L.; No. 741.4 (LINN) as the lectotype of Moluccella frutescens L.; No. 655.19 (LINN) as the lectotype of Potentilla hirta L.], where he is mentioned in the protologue, corresponding material in LINN carries “Monsp.” and in all likelihood came from him.

In conclusion, because Sauvages’s material at LINN (now No. 38.5) has been cited in the protologue by Linnaeus, and both (protologue and specimen) are linked, it is a syntype (according to Shenzhen Code Art. 9.6) and has precedence in lectotype designation over unmentioned specimens and cited illustrations according to Art. 9.12 of the ICN. It is therefore the obligate lectotype and accordingly designated here as such.

Fortunately, this specimen clearly represents the traditional concept and current application of the name Thymus pulegioides (e.g. Jalas & Kaleva, 1970Jalas, J. & Kaleva, K. 1970. Supraspezifische Gliederung und Verbreitungstypen in der Gattung Thymus L. (Labiatae). Feddes Repertorium 81: 93–106. https://doi.org/10.1002/fedr.4910810108; Jalas, 1972Jalas, J. 1972. Thymus L. In: Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A. (Eds.), Flora Europaea 3. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 172–182., 1974Jalas, J. 1974. Notes on Thymus L. (Labiatae) in Europe: III. Annales Botanici Fennici 11: 262–266.; Ložiene, 2006Ložiene, K. 2006. Instability of morphological features used for classification of Thymus pulegioides infraspecific taxa. Acta Botanica Hungarica 48: 345–360. https://doi.org/10.1556/ABot.48.2006.3-4.9; Morales, 2010Morales, R. 2010. Thymus L. In: Morales, R., Quintanar, A., Cabezas, F., Pujadas, A. J. & Cirujano, S. (Ed.), Flora iberica 12. Real Jardín Botánico (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Madrid: 349–409.).

Thymus pulegioides L., Sp. Pl.: 592. 1753.

Ind. loc.: “Habitat Monspelii.”

Lectotype (designated here): “Monsp.” [Monspeliensis] (Montpellier, France), François Boissier de la Croix de Sauvage s.n., s.d., Herb. Linnaeus No. 38.5 (LINN [photo!]) (image available at http://linnean-online.org/153).

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