Sabdariffa scotellii (Baker f.) Mwachala & R.L.Barrett, 2025

Sabdariffa scotellii (Baker f.) Mwachala & R.L.Barrett View in CoL , comb. nov.

Hibiscus scotellii Baker f., J. Linn. Soc. Bot. View in CoL 30: 74–75 (1894). Type citation: ‘on gneissose rocks by Scarcies River , 2 miles [~ 3.2 km] N of Sasseni , Jan. , no. 4535.’ Type: Sierra Leone: Scarcies River , 2 miles [~ 3.2 km] N of Sasseni, Jan., G.F. Scott-Elliott 4535 (lecto, here designated: K 000240762 ; isolecto: BM 000645524 ) .

Descriptions and illustrations

Baker (1894, pp. 74–75); Wilson (1999, p. 73, fig. 3f).

Typification

Baker (1894, pp. 65–66) specifies that the first set of specimens collected by Scott-Elliott was retained at K, with duplicates (when available) dispersed to BM, B, HA, CAL and P, in that order of priority. However, this does not constitute designation of holotypes at K, therefore we here select K 000240762 as lectotype as this is an ample sheet with original annotations .

Notes

Often confused with S. cannabinna due to a similar habit and highly divided leaves but likely closer to S. aspera and S. verrucosa that share overlapping distributions with S. scotellii . This species differs from all of these taxa in having a short, soft indumentum that suggests a closer relationship with S. sineaculeata .

Distribution

Tropical West Africa, in Bénin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo.