Clarification of the Type of Lecanorchis kiusiana (Vanilleae, Vanilloideae, Orchidaceae)

Abstract

We found that the sheet TNS111013 that has been treated as the holotype of Lecanorchis kiusiana Tuyama (Orchidaceae) comprises more than one gathering and even more than one taxon. The fruiting individual on the left side of the sheet, with larger habit, distinctly longer capsules and thicker stems, can be identified as L. japonica Blume. Therefore, the fruiting individual are excluded from the type material. The flowering stalks and dissected flowers on the sheet also do not belong to the gathering that Tuyama (1955) cited as the type, since they were collected on a different date. Nonetheless, since the figures and description of floral parts in the protologue are based on the specimen of flowering plants and dissected flowers, flowering plants and dissected flowers could be considered as paratypes. Consequently, the center- and right-hand fruiting individuals on the sheet TNS111013 should be designated as the holotype.