Lectotypification of Senecio neomexicanus A. Gray

3 Pages·1993·0.56 MB·English

by  B L Turner

Phytologia(September 1993)75(3):221-223.
LECTOTYPIFICATION OF SENECIO NEOMEXICANUSA. GRAY
BillieL. Turner
DepartmentofBotany,UniversityofTexas, Austin,Texas 78713-7640 U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
SenecioneomexicanuaA. Grayislectotypified.
KEYWORDS: Senecio, Asteraceae
ThenameSenecio neomexicanusA.Gray wasfirstproposed in 1883 with-
outdescription. Gray,nevertheless,notedthatthenamewas "giventoatrou-
blesomespecies,collectedinNewMexicoby Wright, Thurber, Henry, Greene,
etc., in Arizona recentlyby Lemmonand Pringle, and within the borders of
California by Parish, specimens ofwhich have been variously and dubiously
referredto 5.fendlen, multilobatus, aureus,etc." Graysubsequentlyformally
described the species, noting in his protologue that it occurred in "Moun-
tains and wooded hills of New Mexico, Fendler, Wright, Thurber, Henry,
Greene, etc. Arizona, Lemmon, Pringle. San Bernardino, mountains, Cali-
fornia, Parish."
Barkley(1978)listedasthe"holotype"ofSenecioneomexicanus,as Wright
1415(GH) from the Organ Mountains ofNew Mexico, collectedin 1852. He
presumablyfollowedGreenman(1915)inthisdesignation,althoughthelatter
worker did not formally designate the sheet concerned as "holotype," but
rather noted thisto be a "type," sheetsofwhichcould befound at both GH
andPH. Inviewofthisambiguity,designationofaformallectotypeisneeded,
whichisthepurposeofthepresent paper.
Gray did not originally annotate Wright i-^i5(GH) as Senecio neomexi-
canus, but rather noted on theoriginallabel that this was Senecio aureus L.
var. borealisA. Gray, and subsequently stating "verging towards astout and
floccose form of var. Balsamitae (5. plattensis Nutt.)" (Gray 1852, p. 100).
Later, Gray apparently wrote on the label which accompanies Wright 1415,
"positus 5. Neomexicanus.^'' Indeed,theplant concerned (of. Greenman 1918,
pi. 4) does not fit well Gray'sdescriptionof5. neomexicanus, lookinginstead
like(orapproaching) S. plattensis,ifnotwhat Iwouldcall5. thurbenA. Gray.
221
222 PHYT L GIA volume 75(3):221-223 September1993
Amongthevariousparatypesavailableat GH!,abetterselectionforlecto-
typificationofSenecio neomexicanusis Lemmon 49from the Santa Catalina
Mountains, Arizona, whichis annotated "5. Neo-Mexicanus n-sp." in Gray's
hand.
Senecio neomexicanus A. Gray, Syn. Fl. N. Amer. 1(2):392. 1884. TYPE:
U.S.A. Arizona: PimaCo., Santa Catalina Mountains, Apr 1880, J.G.
Lemmon 49 (LECTOTYPE [selected here]: GH!). On the type sheet
there is mounted Lemmon 122, from Ft. Lowell, Arizona; the plant is
virtually identical with Lemm.on 49, and both occur within the range
ofthe species. Barkley annotated both specimens as belonging to his
conceptof5. neomexicanusvar. neom,exicanu3.
My interpretation ofwhat Gray had in mind when he described Senecio
neomexicanus is essentially that of Barkley's 5. neomexicanus var. neomex-
icanus, except that Barkley (1978) included as a questionable synonym the
earliest name within this complex, 5. thurben A. Gray. I believe that the
latternamedoes not belong within the 5. neomexicanuscomplex,but rather
appliestowhatBarkleycallsSenecio tridenticulatusRydb.(includingmuchof
his5. neomexicanusvar. mutabilis[E. Greene] T.M. Barkley,whichistypified
by material from Colorado). In short, I consider Senecio tridenticulatus, S.
neomexicanusvar. mutabilis, S. neomexicanv3var. metcalfei(E.Greene)T.M.
Barkley, and S. neomexicanus var. toum,eyi (E. Greene) T.M. Barkley to be
synonymouswith 5. thurberi.
Preliminaryfield studies during the spring and summerof1993 in south-
westernNewMexicoandArizona,alongwithexaminationofmostofthetypes
concerned,suggestthat Senecioneomexicanusvar.neomexicanusrangesacross
most of southern Arizona and adjacent southeastern New Mexico; Senecio
thurberiranges across muchofnorthern Arizona, closelyadjacent Utah, Col-
orado, and most ofNew Mexicoand trans-Pecos Texas.
Whetherornot mytaxonomicviewswith respect totheabovearesound,
the lectotypification provided here for Senecio neomexicanus appears appro-
priateand needediffutureworkershopetostabilizethenomenclatureamong
membersofthe 5. neomexicanus- 5. thurbencomplex.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I
MyconsiderablethankstoTedBarkleyand Guy Nesomforreviewingthis
paper.
I
Turner: Lectotypification ofSenecto neomexicanus 223
LITERATURE CITED
Barkley,T.M. 1978. Senecto, in N. Amer. Fl. II. 10:50-139.
Gray A. 1852. Plantae Wrighttanae2:1-117.
1883. Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts. 19:55.
Greenman, J.M. 1918. Monograph of the North and Central American
Species ofthegenus Senecto - part II. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 5:37-
108.