Notes on the identities of the new genera and species published by Domenico (Domingos) Vandelli in the Florae Lusitanicae et Brasiliensis specimen

Abstract

The Florae Lusitanicae et Brasiliensis specimen, published in 1788, is revisited here after encountering three manuscripts that proved to be directly related to the new genera described by Domenico Vandelli. One of them is a bound folio of watercolor drawings with 133 plates containing sketches of branches, inflorescences and/or fruits of each species, as well as drawing of dissections of their flowers and/or fruits. Those drawings had been copied from original material collected and sent to Portugal from Brazil by Joaquim Vellozo de Miranda. Vandelli used them as the basis for his descriptions of new Brazilian taxa. Examinations of the drawings have allowed the identification of 21 new genera (most of them to the species level) out of 25, thus clarifying the taxonomic status of several taxa that had remained unresolved since the 1788 publication date. A significant nomenclatural discovery is that Tapanhuacanga Vand. has now been shown to be Psyllocarpus laricoides Mart. & Zucc. Therefore, Tapanhuacanga has priority over Psyllocarpus, which has required 12 new combinations undertaken here. Three new synonymies, typification of five genera and 18 lectotypifications are proposed.

Superseding the type of Mendoncia (Acanthaceae) with a species from eastern Brazil

“…Italian botanist Domenico Vandelli (1735–1816) worked at Coimbra University and received specimens from his Brazil‐based collaborator Joaquim Velloso de Miranda (1733–1815), amongst them Mendoncia (Vandelli, 1788: 43), named after Luis António Furtado de Castro do Rio de Mendonça e Faro, the Visconde de Barbacena, Minas Gerais, Brazil in 1788 (Ferreira, 2013). According to other authors, the genus was named after Cardinal Mendonça, Patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal (Wittstein, 1856) or alternatively, the brother of the Marquis of Pombal, Francisco Xavier de Mendonça Furtado, who was a key player in the construction of the Jardim da Ajuda (Moraes, 2018). As with many of his genera, Vandelli failed to publish a species name; however, an illustration is available in his protologue (Vandelli, 1788: t. 3, fig.…”

“…Exhaustive searches by the authors for additional material in Coimbra (COI), Lisbon (LISU), Paris (P) and the Linnaean Herbarium (LINN) did not yield any additional original specimens that might have been the basis of Vandelli's description. An outstanding account of Vandelli's work and the fate of Velloso's specimens was provided by Moraes (2018), where he conveys that, apart from the original of the plate (Vandelli, 1788: t. 3, fig. 22) found at LISU (Casa do Risco, 1787; Moraes 2018: fig.…”

“…An outstanding account of Vandelli's work and the fate of Velloso's specimens was provided by Moraes (2018), where he conveys that, apart from the original of the plate (Vandelli, 1788: t. 3, fig. 22) found at LISU (Casa do Risco, 1787; Moraes 2018: fig. 4A) only one doubtful, scantily annotated herbarium specimen deposited in Paris (P03609682) might remain of the original material used by Vandelli to prepare the description of Mendoncia .…”

L'expédition scientifique de João da Silva Feijó aux îles du Cap Vert (1783-1796) et les tribulations de son herbier

“…Cependant, Cardoso (1915) Feijó (Chevalier 1935 ;Brochmann et al 1997). D'autres mentionnèrent des dates inexactes sur la durée du séjour et la période de récoltes (Cardoso 1902(Cardoso , 1905(Cardoso , 1915Chevalier 1935 ;Barbosa 1962 ;Lobin 1987 ;Liberato 1994) (Fernandes & Fernandes 1955Thulin 1978 ;Romeiras et al 2014 ;Moraes 2018). Dès 1849, Webb a soulevé une vive incertitude sur l'origine des parts d'herbier : « was accompanied by no written document by which country of the plants could be ascertained » (Webb 1849).…”

Welcome back, Barbacenia rogieri!

“…The Flora do Brasil Online (2020) currently recognizes 91 accepted species, all but one endemic to Brazil. This beautiful genus lacked a valid type for 232 years, until Moraes (2019: 53), lectotypified an illustration of B. brasiliensis Lam. (1792: 390. tab.…”