Introduction

Eriocaulaceae comprises 10 genera and approximately 1400 species, and is mainly distributed in tropical to subtropical regions with the main centre of diversity in Brazil (Giulietti et al. 2018). These species are found in swampy areas or areas with periodic floods (Giulietti et al. 2018; Sano et al. 2009; Simpson 2006), and are characterised by being grass-like plants, small, perennial, monoecious, mostly terrestrial with a few species submerged, with short stems with narrow, rosulate leaves and with the inflorescence composed of a dense capitulum with a scape surrounded by a spathe, with very small unisexual flowers, and spiraperturate pollen grains (Giulietti et al. 2012, 2018; Sano et al. 2009; Simpson 2006; Stevens 2001onwards). The dried inflorescences are often used as ornamentals and are commonly called "everlasting flowers" (Giulietti et al. 2012; Simpson 2006), and for this reason, some species are overexploited and consequently critically endangered (Sano et al. 2009).

In Argentina, the first author to cite the family was Molfino (1922) who included four species. Later, Castellanos (1945) and almost simultaneously, Abbiatti (1946a, 1946b) reported seven and four species, respectively. Nowadays, six species of Eriocaulon L. (Linnaeus 1753: 87) and two species of Syngonanthus Ruhland (1900: 487) are cited for Argentina (Zuloaga et al. 2019).

In the course of revising the family for the Flora of Argentina, it has been found that some names were not effectively lectotypified, and therefore we have designated six lectotypes and one epitype.

Typification

1. Eriocaulon crassiscapum Bong. (Bongard 1831: 628). Type: Brazil, Minas Gerais, Entre Prados y Barbacena, June 1824, L. Riedel 296 (lectotype LE [LE00002808]! ten plants located in the upper half of the sheet, selected here; isolectotype LE [LE00002807]! without collector s.n.). Image of the lectotype available at https://plants.jstor.org/stable/viewer/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.le00002808.

notes. Bongard cited in the protologue of Eriocaulon crassiscapum “Habitat in paludibus inter as Prados et Barbacena. Floret Junio”. Although no collector or number was given in the protologue itself, Riedel was mentioned as a collector in the introduction to the publication. In LE, where Bongard worked (Stafleu & Cowan 1983), we found two sheets that match with the type locality cited in the protologue: Riedel 296 and without collector s.n. These sheets did not have a cross reference that indicated that they belonged to the same specimen, therefore according to ICBN (Art. 40, note 1) (Turland et al. 2018), it is appropriate to designate one of them as a lectotype. We chose the specimen LE00002808 (the ten plants located in the upper half of the sheet) as they present a greater number of well-preserved plants, although this specimen is mounted on the same sheet as another collection “Brazil. Minas Gerais, Aug-April 1840; P. Claussen s.n.” (seven plants located at the bottom of the sheet) belonging to same entity. Although the isolectotype LE00002807 does not specify the collector’s name nor the collection number, the label has the same inscriptions as the chosen lectotype. The label information matches the brief description of the leaves, the locality and the date published in the protologue, and for this reason we assume that it is an isolectotype. There is one difference in the terms used: “pedunculo” in the protologue, “culmo” on the label of the specimen LE00002808 and “scapo” on the label of the specimen LE00002807; the person who wrote the labels probably changed the term.

Eriocaulon molle Mart. ex Körn. (Körnicke 1863: 487), nom. illegit. Type: Brazil, without locality, C. F. P. Martius s.n. [herb. Fl. Bras. 890] (lectotype M [M0152655]!, selected here; isolectotypes BM [BM000884732]!, BM [BM000884733]!, HAL [HAL0134369]!, M [M0152656]!, MO [MO-152656]!, MO [MO-202614]!, NY [NY00102645]!). Image of the lectotype available at https://plants.jstor.org/stable/viewer/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.m0152655

notes. Körnicke (1863: 487) cited the herbarium name Eriocaulon molle, attributed to Martius, and validly published by Körnicke with the specimen “in Herb. Fl. Bras. n. 890” as synonymous with Eriocaulon crassiscapum, Martius’ types were deposited mostly in M (Stafleu & Cowan 1981), where two sheets were found which have not been cross referenced to indicate that they belong to the same specimen. Therefore, according to ICBN (Art. 40, note 1) (Turland et al. 2018) it is appropriate to designate one of them as a lectotype. For this reason, we chose as lectotype the specimen M0152655 because it presents a larger number of complete plants, among of all the duplicates in the different herbaria.

2. Eriocaulon leptophyllum Kunth (1841: 549). Type: Uruguay [“Brasilia meridionalis”]. Montevideo, F. Sellow 2513 [Ex reliquiis Sellowianus, Humboldt ded. 1836] (lectotype B [B_10_0244407]!, selected here; isolectotypes B [B_10_0244408]!, K [K000457732]!). Image of the lectotype available at https://plants.jstor.org/stable/viewer/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.b%2010%200244407

Eriocaulon argentinum A.Cast. (Castellanos 1945: 83, t. 18B). Type: Argentina, Corrientes, Depto. Santo Tomé: Bañado del Monte Susto, 11 Nov. 1886, G. Niederlein 2257 (holotype BA). Fig. 1.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Holotype of Eriocaulon argentinum A.Cast. (Niederlein 2257 BA).

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notes. Kunth (1841: 549) cited in the protologue of Eriocaulon leptophyllum “Brasilia meridionalis (Sellow)”. Sellow’s type materials were deposited in B (Stafleu & Cowan 1985), where we found two sheets that match the original description, although they have not been cross-referenced to indicate that they belong to the same specimen, and therefore, according to ICBN (Art. 40, note 1) (Turland et al. 2018) it is appropriate to designate one of them as a lectotype. We designate the specimen B_10_0244407 as lectotype, since it presents the inscription “Brasilia meridionalis” cited in the protologue and also carries the inscription “ex herb. Kunth”.

3. Eriocaulon missionum A.Cast. (Castellanos 1945: 88, t. 18A). Type: Argentina, Misiones, Depto. Capital: Posadas, Jan. 1907, C. L. Spegazzini s.n. pro parte (lectotype BAF [BAF00000032]!, selected here; epitype: tab. 18A, in Gen. Sp. Pl. Argent. 3. 1945, selected here). Image of the lectotype available at: https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.baf00000032?searchUri=plantName%3D%2522Eriocaulon%2Bmissionum%2522%26syn%3D1

notes. Castellanos (1945: 88) cited the specimen “Misiones, Posadas, leg. Spegazzini I 1907, in parte Syngonanthus caulescens (BAF)” as a holotype of Eriocaulon missionum. The holotype deposited in BAF is a specimen in very poor condition since it only consists of fragments of roots, leaves and two inflorescences. This specimen is accompanied by the original drawings published by Castellanos. The original Spegazzini specimen for this species should be in LP (Stafleu & Cowan 1985), where only very poor material is filed under E. missionum. This material was collected by Spegazzini s.n. (LP-16240) and judging by the leaf morphology, it belongs to a species of Syngonanthus (Fig. 2). Abbiati (1946b: 280) alluded to having seen a specimen that matches the original description made by Castellanos in LP, but the single specimen we have found is the one previously mentioned, which clearly does not match the original description of E. missionum. Therefore, it is highly probable that the original material is, in fact, deposited in BAF. As the remaining material is in such poor condition we herein choose an epitype considering it is impossible for the original material to serve as an interpretative type for this species (Art. 9.9) (Turland et al. 2018).

Fig. 2
figure 2

Original material filed under Eriocaulon missionum A.Cast. (C. L. Spegazzini s.n. [LP16240]!), could be Syngonanthus.

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4. Eriocaulon sellowianum Kunth (1841: 545). Type: Uruguay [“Brasilia meridionalis”], Montevideo, F. Sellow s.n. [“Ex reliquiis Sellowianis, Humboldt ded. 1836”] (lectotype B [B_10_0244385]!, selected here). Image of the lectotype available at https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.b%2010%200244385?searchUri=plantName%3D%2522Eriocaulon%2Bsellowianum%2522%26syn%3D1

notes. Kunth (1841: 545) cited in the protologue of Eriocaulon sellowianum “Brasilia meridionalis. (Sellow.)”. According to Stafleu & Cowan (1985), Sellow’s type specimens were deposited in B. Two sheets that match with the location mentioned in the protologue were found in B. To avoid misunderstandings, the specimen B_10_0244385 is chosen as a lectotype, firstly because it has the script “ex Herb. Kunth” and secondly because the other specimen B_10_0244390 deviates from the original description given by Kunth, primarily by possessing leaves longer than those cited in the protologue. This specimen probably belongs to E. weddellianum A.L.R.Oliveira.

Eriocaulon brevifolium Mart. ex. Körn. (Körnicke 1863: 485), nom. illegit. Type: Brazil, without locality, C. F. P. Martius s.n. [Herb. Fl. Bras. 881] (lectotype M [M0152621]!, selected here; isolectotypes B [B_10_0244384]!, NY [NY00102608]!, P [P00570188]!). Image of the lectotype available at https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.m0152621?searchUri=filter%3Dname%26so%3Dps_group_by_genus_species%2Basc%26Query%3DEriocaulon%2Bbrevifolium%2BMart.%2Bex%2BK%25C3%25B6rn

notes. Eriocaulon brevifolium is a name attributed to Martius and validly published by Körnicke (1863: 486) who cited the specimen “Eriocaulon brevifolium Mart. Hb. Fl. Bras. 881”. We found four sheets corresponding to the collection of Martius s.n. [Hb. Fl. Bras. 881] deposited in B and M. According to Stafleu & Cowan (1981), Martius’ types were usually deposited in M, and therefore, because it is the most complete specimen, we designate the specimen M0152621 as the lectotype. Eriocaulon brevifolium was published by Körnicke as a synonym of the earlier E. sellowianum Kunth, and so was not validly published (Art. 36.1b).

Eriocaulon paranense Moldenke (1949: 166).

Eriocaulon sellowianum var. paranense (Moldenke) Moldenke & L.B.Sm. (Moldenke & Smith 1973: 37). Type: Brazil, Paraná: Florestal, 29 kilometer para este de Curitiba, estrada C.-Paranagua, 13 Dec. 1947, G. Tessmann 2751 (holotype NY [NY00102650]!).

notes. Oliveira & Bove (2015: 186) mistakenly cited the specimen Smith et al. 15667 (K) as the type of Eriocaulon paranense Moldenke. Here, we correct this citation.

5. Syngonanthus anthemiflorus (Bong.) Ruhland (1903: 258).

Eriocaulon anthemiflorum Bong. (Bongard 1831: 636). Type: Brazil, Minas Gerais: Serra da Lapa, habitat in paludosis, Nov 1824, L. Riedel 1409 (lectotype LE [LE00002796]!, selected here; isolectotypes B, BR [BR0000008600912]!, G [G00301758]!, K [K000640205]!, LE [LE00002795]!, OXF, P [P00761881]!, U [U0001811]!, USP). Figs 3 and 4.

Fig. 3
figure 3

Lectotype of Syngonanthus anthemiflorus (Bong.) Ruhland (L. Riedel 1409 [LE00002796]!).

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Fig. 4
figure 4

Isolectotype of Syngonanthus anthemiflorus (Bong.) Ruhland (L. Riedel 1409 [LE00002795]!).

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notes. Bongard (1831: 631) cited in the protologue of Eriocaulon anthemidiflorum: “Habitat in paludosis Serra la Lapa. Floret Novembri”. In LE, where Bongard worked (Stafleu & Cowan 1983), two sheets were found that matched with the type locality. These sheets, did not have a cross reference that indicated that they were derived from the same specimen, and therefore, according to ICBN (Art. 40, note 1) (Turland et al. 2018) it is appropriate to designate one of them as a lectotype. For this reason, the specimen LE00002796 is designated as the lectotype as it has the collector’s name and the collection number on the label and it is the most complete and better preserved specimen.

Additional species

Eriocaulon arechavaletae Herter (1935: 125).

Eriocaulon latifolium Arechav. (Arechavaleta 1902: 21), nom. illegit.

notes. Herter proposed Eriocaulon arechavaletae as a new name based on the homonym E. latifolium published by Arechavaleta (1902), with a detailed description but without citing any specimen. It was an illegitimate name because it was pre-empted by Eriocaulon latifolium Sm. (Smith 1809). Presumably, Arechavaleta’s types were deposited in MVM (Stafleu & Mennega 1992). Unfortunately we could not verify if such material exists. As we did not have access to any specimen of this species, a typification was not performed at this point.