Novitates Gabonenses 55. Manuscript Names and Drawings of the French
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Novitates Gabonenses 55. Manuscript names and drawings of the French botanist Louis Pierre (1833-1905):adiscussion about their validity with some examples of nomenclatural consequences for the Gabonese flora in particular F.J. BRETELER Herbarium Vadense, Biosystematics Group, Wageningen University, Foulkesweg 37, NL-6703 BL Wageningen (Netherlands) [email protected] ABSTRACT KEY WORDS Louis Pierre, The importance of the French botanist Louis P IERRE for Gabon, best known manuscript names, from his Flore forestière de la Cochinchine, is introduced. New species pub- validity, nomenclature, lished by him by means of the distribution of drawings by E. D ELPY are new combinations, considered effective and valid, but mostly not treated as such. Nomenclatural Euphorbiaceae, consequences, ranging from change of author to change of generic name, are Irvingiaceae, Scytopetalaceae, demonstrated from a few examples in the Euphorbiaceae, the Irvingiaceae, Gabon. and the Scytopetalaceae. RÉSUMÉ Novitates Gabonenses 55. Noms manuscrits et dessins du botaniste français Louis Pierre (1833-1905) : une discussion de leur validité avec quelques exemples de conséquences nomenclaturales, en particulier pour la flore gabonaise. Si le botaniste français Louis P IERRE est renommé pour sa Flore forestière de la MOTS CLÉS Louis Pierre, Cochinchine, son importance pour la flore du Gabon est rappelée. En effet, les noms manuscrits, espèces nouvelles qu’il a effectivement publiées grâce à la distribution de validité, nomenclature, dessins exécutés par E. D ELPY sont valides, mais n’ont le plus souvent pas été combinaisons nouvelles, considérées comme telles par la suite. Il en résulte des conséquences nomen- Euphorbiaceae, claturales, variant d’une simple substitution d’auteur à un changement de Irvingiaceae, Scytopetalaceae, nom de genre, ici démontrées par quelques exemples pris dans les Gabon. Euphorbiaceae, Irvingiaceae et Scytopetalaceae. ADANSONIA, sér. 3 • 2005 • 27 (2) : 325-335 © Publications Scientifiques du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris. 325 Breteler F.J. the important herbaria of that time (P IERRE 1896a: 1233; V AN T IEGHEM 1905: 289). These illustrations have been made by the artist E.D ELPY, by order of his employer P IERRE (e.g., Figs 2-5). These illustrations with analysis are accepted as equivalent to a description (G REUTER et al. 2000: Arts 42.3, 44.1) if published prior to 1 January 1908. They were copied and sent by D ELPY soon after he had finished the illustration, quite often together with a duplicate of the col- lection(s) on which they were based (P IERRE 1896a; V AN T IEGHEM 1905; pers. obs. in BR, K, P). Sometimes this distribution was followed by a full description in print by P IERRE, mostly pub- lished a few months later in the Bulletin mensuel de la Société lineénne de Paris in the years 1896- 1905 (C HEVALIER 1906; L EANDRI 1963) or were only mentioned there (P IERRE 1896a: 1233). A few have been published in his Flore forestière de la Cochinchine (P IERRE 1892), e.g., Fegimanra Pierre, Lavigeria Pierre. In some cases the same taxon was published by another botanist, who IERRE F IG. 1. — Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Louis P IERRE. took up P ’s name, and, consequently the taxon became known by the authors Pierre ex... So far there are very few cases in which taxono- INTRODUCTION mists have recognized the validity of P IERRE’s names, resulting in a correct author citation. The French botanist Jean-Baptiste Louis Dichapetalum integrum is mentioned in the Index P IERRE (Fig. 1) is best known from his magnum Kewensis as D. integrum Pierre ex Pellegr. opus Flore forestière de la Cochinchine (1880- (P ELLEGRIN 1913). D ELPY’s drawing of this taxon 1899) (C HEVALIER 1906; G AGNEPAIN 1906a, b; with details was distributed not later than L EANDRI 1963). However, the more than 1600 25March 1904, the official date of donation of entries in the Index Kewensis that bear his name as P IERRE’s entire collection to the Paris Herbarium author, either alone or with a co-author or as (see next paragraph). Therefore the publishing “Pierre ex...”, do not all concern taxa from Asia in author is P IERRE (B RETELER 1978: 31). Staphysora general or Indochina in particular. His taxonomic klaineana Pierre published in the same way and work on the flora of tropical Africa, especially of treated by H UTCHINSON (1912) as a nomen Gabon, is less well known, but of great impor- nudum was correctly taken up by L ÉONARD tance for that last country. Of the more than (1994: 14) as validly published and became 1600 taxa mentioned, c. 350 are African of which Maesobotrya klaineana (Pierre) J.Léonard. c. 200 are cited as from “Pierre ex...”, which indi- In Berlin, like in Kew, the conception may cates that P IERRE is not the publishing author. have been that such names, published by the dis- Some of these “Pierre ex...” names, especially tribution of a detailed drawing, are not valid. those by C HEVALIER (Pierre ex A.Chev.), are G ILG at least, and probably colleagues like P AX as indeed based on a manuscript name found on a well, were of this opinion. His comments (letter herbarium label, but some others are not. These to P IERRE in P, dated 27 February 1900; G ILG other names have in fact already been published 1908) on P IERRE’s Cerolepis (Flacourtiaceae) by P IERRE by means of the distribution of “illus- which name competed with his Camptostylus, is tration with analysis, of the taxa in question” to illustrative. A drawing of Cerolepis was sent to 326 ADANSONIA, sér. 3• 2005 • 27 (2) Nomenclatural aspects of the manuscript names of Louis Pierre Berlin in 1896, but a description in print (P IERRE donated (25 March 1904) his entire collection of 1899) appeared well after the publication of 20850 specimens (L EANDRI 1963: 220) to the Camptostylus (G ILG 1898; see also H UL 1995). Paris Museum. It consisted of his own collection G ILG (1896) also argued that Jollydora Pierre, made in Indochina and the collections from published by the distribution of an illustration Gabon (then a part of French Congo) which he with analysis in 1895, was not valid, and so the had bought from his private funds. He was name was cited as Jollydora Pierre ex Gilg offered to sell these Gabonese collections to a rich (D URAND & J ACKSON 1899; B RUMMITT & amateur for a considerable amount of money P OWELL 1992), but also as Jollydora Pierre in both (G AGNEPAIN 1906a: xxvi), but P IERRE decided editions of the Flora of West Tropical Africa that they belonged in the Paris Museum (H UTCHINSON & D ALZIEL 1927; H EPPER 1958; (G AGNEPAIN 1906b: 56, 57). see also B RETELER & V AN Z IEL 1989). After this donation the Paris Museum distrib- The aim of this paper is to highlight P IERRE’s uted some material of his collection, notably publication of new taxa by means of the distribu- some of the copies of plant illustrations that tion of illustrations with analysis, of which many remained. This was then an official sending from are incorrectly cited and/or wrongly treated. The the Paris Museum and was witnessed as such, cases dealt with below show the consequences of e.g., by K on 4 June 1904 (stamps on drawings of correct interpretation of these names, which may Megabaria klaineana and M. obovatum ) or as “ex vary from a simple correction of author citation Herbario Musei Parisiensis” in BR on the illustra- from “Pierre ex...” to “Pierre” (e.g., Klainedoxa ) tion of Klaineanthus gabonii P IERRE (Fig. 2). This on the one hand, to a change of generic name illustration is also present in BR attached to a (e.g., Mildbraedia to Plesiatropha ) on the other. duplicate of Klaine 1941, a collection on which the illustration was based, at least partly, and con- cerns the first sending by P IERRE. PIERRE’S WORK ON THE FLORA Before P IERRE, little had been published on the OF GABON flora of Gabon because of botanical exploration had hardly begun (F LORET 1976). As a result of When P IERRE returned from Saigon in 1877, collections from Libreville and surroundings where he had founded the botanical garden and made by S OYAUX , but especially by the mission- was its first director for more than 12 years, he ary K LAINE,the botanical wealth of Gabon was settled in Paris, 63 rue Monge, close to the Paris being unveiled and P IERRE set himself at work Herbarium. In 1883 he moved to Charenton with his great intellectual energy to investigate it. (G AGNEPAIN 1906a) and later on to Villeneuve- This K LAINE collection, at least partly (L ETOUZEY Saint-Georges, where he lived at least in 1891, 1962) was acquired by him and was labelled as and then, probably in 1893, moved again, to P IERRE’s collection (“H.L.-P. N°”, on the illustra- Saint-Mandé. There was not enough space in the tions) but mostly not numbered. Paris Museum to house his large collection from Pierre analyzed the material, made descrip- Indochina, so P IERRE must have worked on his tions and some sketches, and then handed it on Flore forestière de la Cochinchine at home together to D ELPY for the illustration. P IERRE’s knowledge with his artist E. D ELPY and it must have been of the tropical flora was not restricted to the area from his home that the drawings and duplicates of his Flore forestière de la Cochinchine, but was were sent away, not from the Paris Museum. much larger. This wide knowledge meant that he P IERRE was already 70 years old, when, in 1903, could make decisions such as the inclusion of the two years before his death, he finally was offered a Euphorbiaceous genera Galearia and Microdesmis modest space for his collection in the Paris (P IERRE 1896b, 1897b) in Pandaceae, which is Museum together with a small office.