Capparis diversifolia Wight & Arnott K 1834

Capparis diversifolia Wight & Arnott (1834: 27). Fig. 1

Lectotype (first step designated by Jacobs 1965):— INDIA, s.loc., s. d. Wight & Arnott 952, K000247306 (K, image!) and K000247307 (K, image!). Second-step lectotype, designated here K000247306 (K, image!); Isolectotypes K 000247307 (K, image!), G00237950 (G, image!), E00174093 (E, image!).

Distribution:— INDIA and SRI LANKA (Sundararaghavan 1993, Maurya et al. 2020).

Notes:— While searching for the type specimen of Capparis diversifolia, we came across three specimens, two deposited at K, and one at G. The G specimen (G00237950) has annotations of De Candolle as “Herb. Wight. Propr. 952, Capparis diversifolia W. & A., Prod. by R.Wight and Arn. pg. 27, Peninsula Ind. Orientalis, 1836”, and two labels indicating “HERBIER DE CANDOLLE”, and “TYPUS”. Further, a determinavit by Jacobs (1960) indicating “Isotype of Capparis diversifolia W. & A.”. Whereas the two specimens housed at K (K000247306 and K000247307) have Wight & Arnott’s annotation, collection number ‘ 952 ’ and species number ‘ 95 ’ in “ Prodromus Florae Peninsulae Indiae Orientalis ” without mention of any locality. Further, a determinavit slip by Jacobs (1961) indicated both of them as ‘Type’ and the same is cited as holotype in his treatment (Jacobs 1965). Much later, Noltie (2005) indicated a specimen (WC952, image!) housed in E as syntype bearing annotations by Wight & Arnott as “Herb. Wight. Propr. n 952, Capparis heterophylla W & A, Peninsula Ind. orientalis” and by Jacobs as “ Capparis diversifolia W. & A., Type, in Blumea 12:448 (1965) ” and stated that “a specimen ex herb. Arnott with HWP label annotated by Arnott Capparis heterophylla W&A [WC] n. 952. Contemplating all, the citation of ‘Holotype’ by Jacobs (1965) has to be considered the first step lectotype of C. diversifolia as per Art. 9.17, and a correctable error following Art. 9.10 (Turland et al. 2018). Hence, we designate K000247306 here as a second-step lectotype for C. diversifolia.