On the identity and typification of Solanum brasilianum Dunal (Solanaceae)

Abstract

Solanum brasilianum Dunal was described by Dunal in 1813 with reference only to an illustration in an 18th century work by Leonard Plukenet. The plate is difficult to interpret and no explicitly related specimens were available so the name S. brasilianum has long been regarded as "unresolved" and has never been used. Material matching the Plukenet plate was discovered in the herbarium of the University of Oxford (OXF) by Stephen Harris during his study of the English privateer William Dampier's Brazilian collection. The specimen is referable to a common Brazilian Solanum that is a member of the Torva clade, Solanum paniculatum L., making S. brasilianum Dunal a heterotypic synonym. We lectotypify S. brasilianum here, and designate an epitype using the Dampier material from OXF.