Notes on South-East Asian Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae, Ericales): commonly misidentified species in mainland South-East Asia
Abstract
Diospyros L. is a large genus of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the tropics. It comprises over 700 species globally and around 300 are believed to occur in South-East Asia. Many species are economically important and exploited for the production of ebony wood and persimmons, yet taxonomic information on the genus is incomplete and inconsistent due to its morphological and nomenclatural complexity. Revisions of Diospyros in continental and insular South-East Asia were conducted independently by different authors, occasionally with different names used for the same species, or different species being given the same name in different countries. During our ongoing study of the genus Diospyros in Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam), we identified several such instances. Here, we clarify the most commonly misidentified species, including 1) D. apiculata Hiern, D. strigosa Hemsl. and D. tamiriensis Lecomte; 2) D. bejaudii Lecomte and D. retrofracta Bakh.; 3) D. dictyoneura Hiern and D. hasseltii Zoll.; 4) D. borneensis Hiern and D. fecunda H.R.Fletcher. Lectotypifications are also made for D. brachiata King & Gamble var. lanceolata H.R.Fletcher, D. fecunda, D. similis Craib and D. strigosa.
References
Bakhuizen van den Brink R.C. 1933. Enumeration of Malayan Ebenaceae. The Garden’s Bulletin Straits Settlements 7 (2): 161–189.
Bakhuizen van den Brink R.C. 1936. Revisio Ebenacearum Malayenesium. Bulletin du Jardin botanique de Buitenzorg, sèrie 3 15 (1): 1–49.
Bakhuizen van den Brink R.C. 1937. Revisio Ebenacearum Malayanesium. Bulletin du Jardin botanique de Buitenzorg, sèrie 3 15 (2): 50–178.
Bakhuizen van den Brink R.C. 1938. Revisio Ebenacearum Malayanesium. Bulletin du Jardin botanique de Buitenzorg, sèrie 3 15 (3): 179–368.
Bakhuizen van den Brink R.C. 1941. Revisio Ebenacearum Malayanesium. Bulletin du Jardin botanique de Buitenzorg, sèrie 3 15 (4): 369–515.
Bakhuizen van den Brink R.C. 1955. Revisio Ebenacearum Malayanesium. Bulletin du Jardin botanique de Buitenzorg, sèrie 3 15 (5): i–xix, Plates 1–92.
Bridson D. & Forman L. 2013. The Herbarium Handbook 3rd Edition. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.
Craib W.G. 1912. Aberdeen University Studies. Vol. 57: Contribution to the flora of Siam. University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.21865
Craib W.G. 1920. Contributions to the Flora of Siam. Additamentum XI. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) 1920 (9): 300–305. https://doi.org/10.2307/4107529
De Kok R.P.J. & Puglisi C. 2021. Typifications and combinations in the Ebenaceae of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Kew Bulletin 76 (2): 293–308. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-021-09931-w
Fischer C.E.C. 1927. Contributions to the Flora of Burma: IV. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) 1927 (7): 314. https://doi.org/10.2307/4107604
Fletcher H.R. 1937. Contributions to the Flora of Siam: Additamentum XLIV. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) 1937 (7): 371–392. https://doi.org/10.2307/4107174
Fletcher H.R. 1938. Ebenaceae. In: Craib W.G. & Kerr A.F.G. (eds) Florae Siamensis Enumeratio 2 (4): 363–384. Siam Society, Bangkok, Thailand.
Forsberg F.R. 1992. An essay on lectotypification. Taxon 41 (2): 321–323. https://doi.org/10.2307/1222339
Gardner S., Sidisunthorn P. & Chayamarit K. 2015. Forest Trees of Southern Thailand. Vol. 1 (Acanthaceae to Escalloniaceae). Kobfai Publishing Project, Bangkok, Thailand.
Heberling J.M., Prather L.A. & Tonsor S.J. 2019. The changing uses of herbarium data in an era of global change: an oveview using automated content analysis. BioScience 69 (10): 812–822. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz094
Hemsley W. 1910. Decades Kewenses. Plantarum Novarum in Herbario Horti Regii Conservatarum. Decas LVII. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) 1910 (6): 192–197. https://doi.org/10.2307/4113303
Hiern W.P. 1873. A monograph of Ebenaceae. Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 12. University Press, Cambridge, UK. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.25923
Hill A.W. 1933. Professor W.G. Craib obituary. Nature 132 (3334): 471–471. https://doi.org/10.1038/132471a0
Jacobs M. 1962. Reliquiae Kerrianae. Blumea 11 (2): 427–493. https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/526109
King G. & Gamble J.S. 1906. Material of a flora of the Malayan Peninsula. No. 17. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Part 2. Natural History 74: 1–386.
Lecomte P.H. 1928a. Ebénacées nouvelles de l’Indochine. Notulae Systematicae 4: 99–121.
Lecomte P.H. 1928b. Quelques espèces nouvelles du genre Maba (Ebénacées) appartenant a la Flore de l’Indochine. Notulae Systematicae 4: 145–146.
Lecomte P.H. 1929. Quelques Ébénacées nouvelles de l’Indo-Chine. Bulletin du Muséum National d‘Histoire Naturelle, série 2 1: 430–432.
Lecomte P.H. 1930. Ébénacées. In: Gagnepain F. (ed.) Flore Générale de l’Indo-Chine. Vol. 3 (7): 915–978. Masson & Co. Publishers, Paris, France.
Lee S.K., Gilbert M.G. & White F. 1996. Ebenaceae. In: Wu Z. & Raven P.H. (eds) Flora of China. Vol. 15: 215–234. Science Press, Beijing, China.
Meeprom N., Utteridge T., Culham A. & Puglisi C. 2022. Lectotypification of Indochinese Ebenaceae published by P.H. Lecomte (1925–1930). Adansonia 44 (12): 115–132. https://doi.org/10.5252/adansonia2022v44a12
Merrill E.D. 1922. Diagnoses of Hainan plants. The Philippine Journal of Science 21 (4): 337–355.
Muséum national d’histoire naturelle. 2022. Vascular plants (P). Available from https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/search/ [accessed April 2022].
Newman M., Ketphanh S., Svengsuksa B., Thomas P., Sengdala K., Lamxay V. & Armstrong K. 2007. A Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Lao PDR. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
Ng F.S.P. 1977. Notes on the systematy of Malayan Phanerogams XXVI. Ebenaceae. The Malaysian Forester 40: 210–248.
Ng F.S.P. 1978. Ebenaceae. In: Ng F.S.P. (ed) Tree Flora of Malaya. Vol. 3: 56–94. Longman Group Limited, London, UK.
Ng F.S.P. 2001. New species, varieties and reductions in Diospyros (Ebenaceae) in Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia including Peninsular Thailand. Gardens’ Bulletin Singapore 33: 291–313.
Ng F.S.P. 2002. Ebenaceae. In: Soepadmo E., Saw L.G. & Chung R.C.K. (eds) Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak. Vol. 4: 29–100. Ampang Press Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Nguyen T.H. 1996. Fam. Ebenaceae Gurke. In: Averyanov L.V., Nguyen T.B., Nguyen T.H., Phan K.L., Serov V.P. & Akimova G.A. (eds) Vascular Plants Synopsis of Vietnamese Flora. Russian Academy of Sciences and National Center for Natural Sciences and Technology of Vietnam, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Parnell J. 2013. The biogeography of the Isthmus of Kra region: a review. Nordic Journal of Botany 31 (1): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-1051.2012.00121.x
Pham-Hoang H. 1991. An Illustrated Flora of Vietnam. Vol.1(2). Pham-Hoang Ho (Privately Published), Vietnam.
Pham-Hoang H. 1999. An Illustrated Flora of Vietnam. Vol. 1. Tre Publishing House (Nhà Xuất Bản Trẻ), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Phengklai C. 1972. The genus Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) in Thailand. Thai Forest Bulletin (Botany) 6: 1–27.
Phengklai C. 1978. Ebenaceae in Thailand. Thai Forest Bulletin (Botany) 11: 1–103.
Phengklai C. 1981. Ebenaceae. In: Smitinand T. & Larsen K. (eds) Flora of Thailand. Vol. 2 (4): 281–392. TISTR Press, Bangkok, Thailand.
POWO. 2022. Diospyros L. Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Available from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:326017-2 [accessed March 2022].
R Core Team. 2021. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Available from https://www.R-project.org/ [accessed May 2022].
Ridley H.N. 1923. The Flora of the Malay Peninsular. Vol. 2: Gamopetalae. Reeve & Co., Ltd., London, UK. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.10921
Roxburgh W. 1795. Plants of the Coast of Coromandel; Selected from Drawings and Descriptions Presented to the Hon. Court of Directors of the East Indian Company. Bulmer & Co, London. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.467
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2022. The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet. Available from https://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed April 2022].
RStudio Team. 2020. RStudio: Integrated Development for R. RStudio, PBC, Boston, MA. Available from http://www.rstudio.com/ [accessed May 2022].
Singh V. 2005. Monograph on Indian Diospyros L. (Persommon, Ebony), Ebenaceae. Botanical Survey of India, New Delhi, India.
Stafleu F.A. & Cowan R.S. 1976. Taxonomic Literature: a Selective Guide to Botanical Publications and Collections with Dates, Commentaries and Types. Vol. 1. (A–G). Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Stafleu F.A. & Cowan R.S. 1979. Taxonomic Literature: a Selective Guide to Botanical Publications and Collections with Dates, Commentaries and Types. Vol. 2. (H–Le). Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Tagane S., Tanaka N., Aung M.M., Naiki A. & Yahara T. 2018. Contributions to the Flora of Myanmar II: New records of eight woody species from Tanintharyi Region, Southern Myanmar. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 63 (1): 47–56.
Thiers B. 2020 [continuously updated]. Index Herbariorum: A global directory of public herbaria and associated staff. New York Botanical Garden’s Virtual Herbarium. Available from https://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/ [accessed December 2022].
Turland N.J., Wiersema J.H., Barrie F.R., Greuter W., Hawksworth D.L., Herendeen P.S., Knapp S., Kusber W.-H., Li D.-Z., Marhold K., May T.W., McNeill J., Monro A.M., Prado J., Price M.J. & Smith G.F. 2018. International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Shenzhen Code) adopted by the Nineteenth International Botanical Congress Shenzhen, China, July 2017. Koeltz Botanical Books, Glashütten, Germany.
Zollinger H. 1857. Observationes Botanicae Novae. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch-Indië 14: 145–176.
Copyright (c) 2024 Nattanon Meeprom, Sutee Duangjai, Timothy M.A. Utteridge, Alastair Culham, Carmen Puglisi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons Copyright Notices
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are NOT ALLOWED TO post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to taxonomic issues.
