Capparis grandis Linnaeus

Capparis grandis Linnaeus f. (1781: 263). Fig. 2

Lectotype (designated here, (perhaps neotype)):— INDIA, s. loc., s. d. König s.n. C10009043 (C) image!; Syntype: C10009041, C10009042 (C, image!), and BM013824965 (BM, image!).

Distribution: — INDIA, CAMBODIA, CHINA, LAOS, MYANMAR, PAKISTAN (Maurya et al. 2020).

Notes: — Jacobs (1965) studied the genus Capparis and cited ‘Type: Koenig (n.v.), Ceylon’ for the name Capparis grandis L.f. While tracing the type specimens of Capparis grandis we found that Koenig’s collections were housed at BR, C, GM, LE, LINN, MO, and UPS (https://kiki.huh.harvard.edu/databases/botanist_search.php?id=28251). After a thorough search of these herbaria, we could locate four specimens (C10009041, C10009042, C10009043, and C10009044) of C. grandis at C and one at BM. Out of these, C10009041 and C10009042 do not have any collection number or locality information, but have an annotation slip “KOENIG HERBARIUM, Recorded in the catalogue of the Koenig collection”. Further, C10009043 (designated here as lectotype (perhaps, neotype)) has the annotation ‘ K ’ (abbreviation for Johann Gerhard Koenig), and “ Capparis grandis, Ind. Orient. ” by Koenig. These sheets (C10009041, C10009042, and C10009043) have another annotation “ Capparis grandis Linn. f., 20/11/1986 ” by K. Chayamarit. The specimen C10009044 also indicates “ Capparis grandis L. det. Ove Paulsen 1919 Ex hb. Morck 1918.” but the collector’s information is uncertain (leg. Koenig? Klein? Rottler?). An annotation on the same indicates “ Capparis maxima, 1106, Roxb. Stipul. spinos rarioribus. Ind. Orient”. The annotation by Chayamarit indicates it again as “ Capparis grandis Linn. f. (20/11/1986)”.

The only specimen we could locate at BM herbarium (BM013824965- designated here as Syntype) has annotations of Dr. Heyne and Jacobs as “ Capparis grandis Koenig, Capparis maxima Roth. Nov. sp. Ind. Or.” and “ Capparidaceae, revised by M. Jacobs, 1961, Capparis grandis L.f.”. As none of the specimens were designated as a “Type or Holotype ” for C. grandis L.f., we designate the lectotype and syntype for the same as per Art. 9.3, and 9.4 of ICN (Turland et al. 2018).

Capparis grandis was first described in 1781 by Linnaeus f., and in protologue he mentioned the location as “ habitat in Zeylona ” and type as König’s collection. Linnaeus f. was either correct or incorrect in citing “Zeylona” (= Ceylon = Sri Lanka), since this species occurs both in India and Sri Lanka and Koenig collected it from both countries, the protologue info may be correct or incorrect (L. f. might have loosely used the term “Zeylona” to refer to India or India and Sri Lanka). We believe the Indian elements could be the original materials as the geographical names in 18 th century were loosely used by European Botanists (Pers. Comm. Dr. K.N. Gandhi, 18/10/2020).