Hamelia patens Jacq. var. patens
-
Authority
Elias, Thomas S. 1976. A monograph of the genus Hamelia (Rubiaceae). Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 26: 81-144.
-
Family
Rubiaceae
-
Scientific Name
-
Discussion
Hamelia erecta Jacq., Enum. Fl. Carib. 16. 1760 (holotype, Jacquin s.n.). H. coccinea Swartz, Prodr. 46. 1788 (holotype, Swartz s.n.). H. sphaerocarpa Ruiz & Pav., Fl. Per. & Chil. 2: 69. t. 221. 1799 (holotype, Ruiz & Pavon s.n. MA?). Duhamelia patens (Jacq.) Pers., Synop. PL 1: 203. 1805. D. sphaerocarpa (Ruiz & Pav.) Pers., Synop. PI. 1: 203. 1805. Hamelia patens y ?quinifolia D C , Prodr. 4: 442. 1830 (holotype, Mocino & Sesse s.n. MA?). H latifolia Reichb. ex D C , Prodr. 4: 442. 1830 (type, Sieber 32). H. lanuginosa Mart. & Gal., Bull. Acad. Brux. 11: 233. 1844 (holotype, Galeotti 2615, P, F frag.!). H. corymbosa Sesse & Mociiio, La Nat., ser. 2, 1, app, 37. 1888 as Hamellia (type, Mocino & Sesse s.n., MA?). H. brittoniana Wernh., Jour. Bot. London 49: 346. 1911 (holotype, Kuntze 2178, NY!). H. intermedia Urban & Ekman, Arkiv Bot. 24A(4): 46. 1932 (holotype, Ekman 10857, S; isotype A!). The very common Hamelia patens var. patens is easily recognized by villous pubescence, and orange-red tubular corolla, ovate calyx lobes, and sessile to shortly pedicellate flowers secund on a helicoid axis. This variety is closely related to H versicolor and H. sanguinea, both of which may have been derived from H. patens. The degree of pubescence in var. patens varies from sparsely villous to densely villous. This is especially evident when populations from southern Florida, the West Indies, and northern South America are compared with populations from Mexico. Most Mexican specimens examined had a very dense indument over most of the plant. As a result, the more pubescent populations in Mexico had been described as H. lanuginosa. A complete gradation from the densely to the sparsely villous condition is found in the Central American specimens. The specimens examined from the remainder of the range of var. patens had only sparse, long, soft and often curled trichomes on the leaves, stems and flowers. Hamelia patens and H. erecta were described at the same time by Jacquin (1760); later investigations have shown that both names refer to the same species. Since H. erecta preceded H. patens by three lines in the initial publication, it might be concluded that H. erecta is the legitimate name. This name was accepted by Standley, and H. patens was placed in synonymy with H. erecta in his Trees and Shrubs of Mexico. A few years later in the North American Flora he reversed the two names, holding that H. patens was the correct name. According to Article 57 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, the choice of the person w h o first unites taxa bearing names or epithets of the same date must be followed. A thorough search of the literature was undertaken to find this author. As far as I have been able to determine, L'Heritier (Sert. Angl. 4. t. 7. 1788), who considered H. erecta to be a synonym of H. patens, was the first to publish this, although the problem may never be resolved with absolute certainty.
-
Distribution
United States of America North America| Bahamas South America| Jamaica South America| Haiti South America| Dominican Republic South America| Puerto Rico South America| Guadeloupe South America| Virgin Islands South America| Dominica South America| Martinique South America| Mexico North America|