Piperaceae Raddianae: A taxonomic and nomenclatural study of Giuseppe Raddi's Brazilian Piperaceae

Abstract

Giuseppe Raddi collected in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from November 1817 to June 1818. He published 12 new names in the family Piperaceae in an article that appeared in 1828. Raddi's article has not been cited in specialized literature and these names were never properly studied. In the present study, these names are typified, and their identity is clarified. Five new combinations are here presented, namely Peperomia callitrichoides, P. catesbaeifolia, P. cylindrica, P. gracillima, and P. plantaginifolia. The new name Piper raddianum is published, honoring him and his botanical accomplishments. In addition, the names Piper scutatum, Piper scolopendrifolium, Piper truncatum, Piper fluminense, Steffensia ampla (≡ Piper amplum), Piper variabile, Piper catesbaeafolium, Piper cylindricum, Piper pumilum, Peperomia martiana, and Piper gracillimum are here lectotypified.

The useful Brazilian cardamom (Zingiberaceae) first described as Elettaria brasiliensis by Raddi

“…The botanical collections of Raddi have been the subject of attention of specialists in various taxonomic groups; for cryptogams (Pinheiro da Costa 2009), and pteridophytes (Pichi Sermolli & Bizzarri 2005), as well as for the vascular plants: Begoniaceae (Irmscher 1957), Melastomataceae (Goldenberg & Baldini 2002), Poaceae (Chase 1923;Baldini & Longhi Wagner 2006;Longhi Wagner & Baldini 2007), Orchidaceae (Romero González et al 2008), Cyperaceae (Longhi Wagner et al 2010); Lecithydaceae (Prance & Mori 1979;Delprete et al 2019), Piperaceae (Guimarães et al 2023). A list of botanical names published by G. Raddi can be found in Baldini and Pignotti (2018b).…”