Group: Dicot Rank: genus Kind: Name of a new Taxon Herbarium Placement: Bayer, 3rd, C, 262

Authors:

Decaisne, Joseph

Published In: Revue Horticole (Paris) 3: 241, f. 13. 1849. (Jul 1849) (Rev. Hort. (Paris))
Annotation: The issues of the correct spelling of the genus name and its place of valid publication are closely intertwined. Decaisne first published the name in Rev. Hort. (Paris) sér. 3, 3: 241 (Jul 1849), with a description and color plate; there he also effected a new combination at species rank þbased on Besleria grandiflora Kunth. Unfortunately, Decaisne spelled the genus name differently on the only two occasions it was mentioned: as "Campanea" in the textual heading, but "Capanea" in the caption of the plate. Denham (Baileya 14: 37-39. 1966) provided a compelling (albeit circumstantial) argument that Decaisne had intended to name the genus after Capaneus, a hero in Greek mythology, and that Capanea should thus be accepted as correct. But Morton, in a paper published the year after his death (Taxon 22: 317-318. 1973), claimed to have seen the spelling Campanea rendered in Decaisne's own hand on the syntypes of B. grandiflora at P. He concluded on that basis that Campanea should be preferred. Morton went on to maintain that Decaisne's names could "not be validly published...for a combined generic and specific description because the species in question was not a *new* species but was based on the earlier Besleria grandiflora." He thus accepted Decne. ex Planch. in Fl. Serres Jard. Eur. 5: t. 499-500 (Aug 1849) as the earliest valid authorship reference for the genus and species. This bizarre logic was followed in the hard-copy edition of ING (1979), as well as by subsequent authors including even Denham (Taxon 24: 392-393. 1975). But Denham effectively hoisted Morton with his own petard by pointing out that, if the Planchon article qualified as the earliest valid publication of the names in question, then the spelling Capanea would have to be accepted as correct, since it was the only spelling used by Planchon. Denham prevailed, as Capanea has been used ever since. But Morton's argument as to the validity of Decaisne's original publication was critically flawed: the fact that "the species in question" was not new, but based on an earlier combination, in fact meant that Decaisne's names *did not have to* meet the provision of the Code for a combined generic and specific description; both the new combination and the new genus description were validly published by Decaisne. Apparently some higher authority has come to this same conclusion (though I have not seen a paper to the effect), because Decaisne is now listed as the sole author for Capanea in the Web version of ING. But the implications of this decision for the spelling of the genus name have perhaps not been appreciated: with Decaisne restored as the valid authority for the genus name, we are back to Square One with regard to its spelling, with Denham's Greek-hero hypothesis once again pitted against Morton's interpretation of the handwriting on some herbarium specimens. Perhaps formal conservation (logically of Capanea) is indicated. M. H. Grayum, 22 June 2005
Type Specimens

• T: Besleria grandiflora Kunth.

Higher Taxa:     Taxonomy Browser
Concept: Andean Bryophytes Bolivia Checklist Catalogue of New World Grasses Ecuador Catalogue Flora Mesoamericana Madagascar Catalogue Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica Moss Flora of China Peru Checklist Philippine Bryophytes System    details

• class:  Equisetopsida C. Agardh
• subclass:  Magnoliidae Novák ex Takht.
• superorder:  Asteranae Takht.
• order:  Lamiales Bromhead
• family:  Gesneriaceae Rich. & Juss.

Projects: Ecuador , Mesoamericana , Northeastern Ecuador Collection Set , Panama , Peru , VPA

Keywords: BCA, CEC