Flag for Taxon: Chinese sumac (Rhus javanica)
| Flagger | Content Author | Content | Reason | Flag Created | Resolved by | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| someplant | Chinese sumac (Rhus javanica) |
synonym of Brucea javanica in POWO* |
Apr. 17, 2022 02:58:14 +0000 | Not Resolved |
Comments
Swap drafted but not committed
I agree the observations under "Rhus javanica" should go to Rhus chinensis
Wouldn't the proposed taxon swap erroneously transfer all "Rhus javanica" observations to Brucea javanica?
I don't think so. It will correctly transfer them to Brucea javanica, in line with our taxon authority, Plants of the World online.
POWO lists Rhus javanica as a homotypic synonym of Brucea javanica, but it also lists R. javanica as a homotypic synonym of Rhus chinensis. Apparently this strange situation arose because Linneaus typified Rhus javanica from two very different specimens (one a Rhus, one a Brucea) -- see articles linked above.
On iNaturalist, the "Rhus javanica" observations appear to be very similar/identical to Rhus chinensis observations (winged rachis, broad panicles of small light fruits), and quite different from the observations of Brucea javanica (unwinged rachis, raceme/narrow panicle of a few large dark fruits). For this reason I think it makes sense to transfer the observations in question to Rhus chinensis.
Thank your @msirotkin for clarifying. But it appears the synonymy is Rhus javanica var. chinensis, which is different? https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:70452-1#synonyms
The type specimen of "Rhus javanica L." is apparently a Brucea, not closely related to Rhus (it's in the Simaroubaceae, while Rhus is in the Anacardiaceae). However, some authors (e.g. in Taiwan) have used "Rhus javanica" to refer to Rhus chinensis.
See:
https://kmweb.coa.gov.tw/files/document/296506/1e557ec62f888aa0d3d56505baa56686_v2.pdf
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/sbg/research/publications/gardens'-bulletin-singapore/-/media/sbg/gardens-bulletin/gbs_73_01_y2021/73_01_02_y2021_v7301_gbs_pg09.ashx