Nuytsia
The journal of the Western Australian Herbarium

The Australian Boab, now known as Adansonia gregorii F.Muell. was first noticed botanically by Allan Cunningham during Phillip Parker Kingâs second survey voyage in 1819, and first collected by Cunningham in the following year at Careening Bay. Cunningham saw only fruiting material, and considered the tree to belong to the genus Capparis L., giving it the manuscript name C. gibbosa A.Cunn. He described but did not formally name the species in Kingâs Narrative of a Survey. The name was published with a valid description in Hewardâs biography of Cunningham in 1842. In the interim Cunningham had drafted a paper comparing his species with the African genus Adansonia Juss., but unfortunately never published it. Subsequently Mueller described the species again, as A. gregorii F.Muell., based on specimens collected near the Victoria and Fitzmaurice Rivers, and this name became accepted for the species. In 1995 Baum recognised that the two descriptions referred to the same taxon, and made the combination Adansonia gibbosa (A.Cunn.) Guymer ex D.Baum. A subsequent referral to the Spermatophyta Committee and General Committee resulted in the name C. gibbosa being rejected, on the grounds that âit seems unlikely thatâCunningham had any intention that this [Hewardâs] description should validate the name of a new species.â Recent rediscovery of Cunninghamâs draft paper shows that, on the contrary, Cunningham clearly believed that his name C. gibbosa was suitable for acceptance, and according to the practices of his day, should be published. That his premature death and subsequent unrecognised description of the species in Hewardâs paper resulted in his discovery going unacknowledged, and being overtaken by Muellerâs later description, is unfortunate, but now irreversible.

In this partial revision of Xerochrysum Tzvelev the following taxa are described as new: X. alpinum Paul G.Wilson, X. boreale Paul G.Wilson, X. halmaturorum Paul G.Wilson and X. interiore Paul G.Wilson. Accounts of several published and unpublished species from north-east New South Wales and south-east Queensland that are currently recognised are omitted since these are being studied by other botanists; however, these taxa are included in the key to species provided here. Lectotypes are chosen for Helichrysum bracteatum var. viscosum DC., X. bicolor (Lindl.) R.J.Bayer and X. viscosum (Sieber ex Spreng.) R.J.Bayer.

The circumscription of Rinzia Schauer (Myrtaceae tribe Chamelaucieae DC.) is enlarged to encompass species with varied stamen arrangement, filament width and seed morphology. This revision of Rinzia s. lat. is based on both morphological and molecular evidence, and establishes five sections within the genus, Discolora Rye, Mesostemon Rye, Polyandra Rye, Semasperma Rye and the typical section. All sections occur in Western Australia, with three of them endemic to the south-west, while sect. Polyandra also occurs in central Australia and sect. Semasperma also occurs in south-eastern Australia. Three new combinations are made for species previously included within Baeckea L., and the new name R. orientalis Rye is published for B. crassifolia Lindl. Baeckea crassifolia var. icosandra F.Muell. ex Benth. is raised to species rank as R. icosandra (F.Muell. ex Benth.) Rye. The other new combinations are R. ericaea (F.Muell. ex Benth.) Rye and R. polystemonea (F.Muell.) Rye. Four new Western Australian species are described as R. fimbriolata Rye & Trudgen, R. medifila Rye, R. torquata Rye & Trudgen and R. triplex Rye & Trudgen, and a new subspecies from Kangaroo Island, South Australia, as R. ericaea subsp. _insularis_Rye. Rinzia morrisonii Trudgen is reduced to synonymy under R. longifolia Turcz. Lectotypes are selected for Baeckea ericaea F.Muell. ex Benth. and R. morrisonii. Seven Western Australian species have conservation priority.