Sabdariffa mastersiana (Hiern) Mwachala & R.L.Barrett, 2025

Sabdariffa mastersiana (Hiern) Mwachala & R.L.Barrett View in CoL , comb. nov.

( Fig. 21 a, b View Fig .)

Hibiscus mastersianus Hiern , Cat Afric. Pl. Welw. 1: 71 (1896); Hibiscus surattensis var. mastersianus (Hiern) Hochr., Annuaire Conserv. Jard. Bot. View in CoL Genève 4: 112 (1900). Type citation: ‘ H. furcatus Masters , l.c., p. 201, non Roxb. Pungo Adongo. … in secondary thickets near Caghuy; fl. and fr. May 1857 … No. 5242. Huilla.–In thickets near Ferraõ de Sola in the Lopollo country; … fl. Jan. 1860. No. 4927 … in stoney places at the borders of forests consisting of ‘Panda’ … near Eme; fl. May 1860. No. 4928.’ Type: Mozambique: Lupata, 20 Apr. 1860, J. Kirk s.n. (lecto: K 000240669), designated by E.W.B.H.Milne-Redhead, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1935: 273 (1935). Residual syn: The Gambia, s. dat., Ingram s.n. (n.v.). Angola: Huila Province: near Ferraõ de Sola, Lopolo, Jan. 1860, F.M.J.Welwitsch 4927 (K 000240663); Angola: Huila Province: ‘Eme,’ May 1860, F.M.J.Welwitsch 4928 (K); Angola: Malanje Province: Pungo Adonga, near Gaghuy, May 1857, F.M.J.Welwitsch 5242 (K).

Hibiscus pachmarhicus Haines, Bull. Misc. Inform. 1914: 24–26 , fig. 1–7 (1914). Type: India : Central Provinces; Madhya Pradesh, Pachmarhi in the Satpura Range , 900 m, Oct. 1911, H.H. Haines 197 P (syn: K 000659776 , K 000659777 , K 000659778 ) .

Hibiscus beddomei Rakshit & Kundu , Sci . & Cult. 27: 192, fig. 1 (1961). Type: India : South India , without precise locality, Nov. 1856, R.H.Beddome 91 & 92 (holo: CAL 0000006235).

Descriptions and illustrations

Hiern (1896, p. 71); Haines (1914, pp. 24–26, fig. 1–7); Milne-Redhead (1935, p. 272); Exell (1961, p. 439); Rakshit and Kundu (1961, p. 192, fig. 1); Merxmüller (1969, p. 82:13, 19–20); Paul and Nayar (1988, p. 126); Edmonds (1991, p. 19); Paul (1993, p. 324); Wilson (1999, p. 71–72, fig. 3b); Heath and Heath (2009, p. 284, fig.); Mwachala (2009, pp. 38–39).

Typification

Milne-Redhead (1935, p. 273) designated a specimen collected by Kirk in Mozambique as lectotype of Hibiscus mastersianus (K 000240669). This is a valid selection based on the citation of Masters’ (1868) concept of H. furcatus , where this is one of the specimens cited. The Welwitsch specimens directly cited by Hiern (1896) are residual syntypes.

Notes

Paul and Nayar (1988, p. 126) and Paul (1993, p. 324) recognised H. beddomei as a distinct species but did not discuss the relationship to S. mastersiana , rather this was distinguished from S. radiata . If Indian populations prove to be distinct from African populations in future, the name Hibiscus pachmarhicus Haines (1914) would have priority for the Indian populations. This species was also possibly an early introduction to India that currently appears native.

Distribution

Considered to have a naturally disjunct distribution in central and southern Africa and India , occurring in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of The Congo, India ,

Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.