Colonial botany and the shifting identity of Balanostreblus ilicifolius Kurz (Moraceae)

Abstract

The protologue of Balanostreblus ilicifolius Kurz included the citation of specimens from Bangladesh and Myanmar of a plant now called Taxotrophis ilicifolia (Kurz) S.Vidal. However, the description in the protologue and the accompanying illustration were based largely on the Neotropical Sorocea guilleminiana Gaudich., which was cultivated in the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta and has similar vegetative characters. This paper seeks to resolve a century of confusion over the identity of Balanostreblus ilicifolius and reviews its history in light of historical correspondence relating to its identity and the trans-continental exchange of plants under British colonialism. The paper concludes that a previous attempt to typify Balanostreblus ilicifolius with an uncited cultivated specimen of Sorocea guilleminiana should be superseded with material from Myanmar cited in the protologue. A lectotype is designated, fixing the application of the name, which can now serve as the basionym of Taxotrophis ilicifolia.