Typifications and nomenclatural notes in Physalis (Solanaceae) from the United States

PRETZ, CHELSEA; DEANNA, ROCÍO

Tucson

Congreso; Botany 2019; 2019

Botanical Society of America

Physalis is an economically important and morphologically diverse genus of herbs with solitary flowers and fruits enveloped by an inflated fruiting calyx. Although work to resolve phylogenetic relationships in this clade is ongoing, Physalis remains a taxonomically complex genus with multiple nomenclatural problems. One persistent challenge in Physalis taxonomy is the lack of clearly designated types. While taxonomic treatments have been presented for the genus, the original material has not been entirely screened and type designation has not been completed for all the taxa. During this talk I will present highlights from the 26 species that inhabit United States and their synonyms, with clarification on the status of the types and designations when needed. While we have proposed 54 typifications, this work only represents about half of the genus. After a careful analysis of type material, online databases, protologues and monographic treatments, we designated lectotypes for 50 names, neotypes for three names were selected (P. ixocarpa, P. linkiana, P. ramosissima), and an epitype for P. longifolia was also proposed. This talk will cover nomenclature confusion, common species with their synonyms, along with exciting historical recounts of this genus.