233
Sol ing he iddle o Aspidium ame is oneu on Fée, a misunde s ood
Cuban o Mexican species o C eni is (D yop e idaceae) –
Occasional Pape s om he He ba ium G eu e , 7
We ne G eu e 1,2 , Rosa Glo ia Rankin Rod íguez3
1 Bo anisches Museum, Be lin, Ge many
2 He ba ium Medi e aneum, O o Bo anico, Pale mo, I aly
3 Ja dín Bo ánico Nacional, Uni e sidad de La Habana, La Habana, Cuba
Co esponding au ho : We ne G eu e (w[email p o ec ed])
Copy igh : ©
We ne G eu e & Rosa Glo ia Rankin Rod íguez.
This is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde
e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion
License (A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional – CC BY 4.0).
Resea ch A icle
Abs ac
The holo ype o Aspidium ame is oneu on, he co ec applica ion o which has long
been in doub , has been iden i ied in he he ba ium RB in Rio de Janei o. I was ound o
ha e been mislabeled, and i s ue o igin is Mexico, no Cuba as s a ed in he p o ologue.
The his o y o he labeling e o is econs uc ed, and he iden i y o Aspidium ame is o-
neu on wi h he species so a known as C eni is sal inii (he e enamed C eni is ame is o-
neu os comb. no .) is demons a ed. The names and synonyms in ol ed a e ypi ied.
Key wo ds: Cuba, Fée he ba ium, e ns, Mexico, new combina ion, ypi ica ion
In oduc ion
The name Aspidium ame is oneu on (‘ame is one on’) Fée, Mém. Foug. 8, Ic.
Esp. Nou .: 104. 1857 ( o he spelling co ec ion, see Tu land e al. 2025: A .
60.6, second sen ence) has long been a puzzle o p e idologis s. In he p o o-
logue (Fée 1857: 105), he o iginal ma e ial o ha name is e e ed o wi h a
single wo d: “Cuba.”
In his “Index ilicum”, Ch is ensen (1905–1906: 251), ollowing he opinion
o Kunze, accep ed he name Aspidium ame is oneu os (‘ame is oneu a’) (Fée)
C. Ch ., wi h D yop e is g isebachii (Bake ) Kun ze in synonymy. Howe e ,
he subsequen ly (Ch is ensen 1920: 44) changed his opinion, w i ing: “[In
1905] I ha e ollowed Kuhn in iden i ying N[eph odium]. g isebachii Bak. wi h
A[spidium]. ame is oneu on Fée; now I ha e my se ious doub s as o his being
well ounded. Fée’s desc ip ion does no ag ee e y well wi h N. g isebachii… Fée
quo es no collec o bu he locali y ‘Cuba’ only; p obably he has he e commi ed
an e o … I ha e no doub … ha he species o Fée is eally Mexican.” The
in luen ial cu en online da abases (PoWo 2025+; WFO 2025+), allegedly
ollowing Hassle (1994–2025), e e ed o Ch is ensen’s ea lie (1905–1906)
assessmen bu , inexplicably dis ega ding he p inciple o p io i y, accep ed
C eni is g isebachii (Bake ) Ching in p e e ence o i s lis ed synonym Aspidium
ame is oneu on Fée.
Academic edi o : Blanca León
Recei ed:
24 Sep embe 2025
Accep ed:
19 Oc obe 2025
Published:
4 No embe 2025
Ci a ion: G eu e W, Rankin Rod íguez
RG (2025) Sol ing he iddle o
Aspidium ame is oneu on Fée, a
misunde s ood Cuban o Mexican
species o C eni is (D yop e idaceae)
– Occasional Pape s om he
He ba ium G eu e , 7. Phy oKeys 265:
233–239. h ps://doi.o g/10.3897/
phy okeys.265.173094
Phy oKeys 265: 233–239 (2025)
DOI: 10.3897/phy okeys.265.173094
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Phy oKeys 265: 233–239 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/phy okeys.265.173094
We ne G eu e & Rosa Glo ia Rankin Rod íguez: Sho Ti le
The oo o he whole p oblem lies no only in he scan p o ologue da a on
he o iginal ma e ial o Aspidium ame is oneu on and in he doub subsequen -
ly exp essed abou i s ac ual p o enance bu also in he ac ha in he Pa is
he ba ium (P)— ha one usually conside s i s when looking o Fée’s ma e ial—
he e is no specimen o be ound ha would quali y as a po en ial ype. Howe e ,
as men ioned by S a leu and Cowan (1976: 818), an impo an and pe haps he
p ima y pa o he Fée he ba ium is ex an in Rio de Janei o, whe e i is now
pa o he RB collec ions. Examining he digi ized specimen images a ailable
in JSTOR’s Global Plan s Da abase, we ound a specimen in RB ha is, beyond
doub , o iginal ma e ial o Aspidium ame is oneu on and ha , in ag eemen wi h
Windisch (1982), we conside he holo ype o ha name. The specimen in ques-
ion (Fig. 1), bes iden i ied h ough i s ba code RB00543192, bea s a Fée label
(Fig. 2) wi h he ollowing ex elemen s, in Fée’s unmis akable handw i ing:
“Asp[idium]. ame is one on, F[ée] ined.” “o ig[ine]. inconnue” and “Cuba.”
The plan i sel is de ini ely no C eni is g isebachii, no does i belong o any
e n species known om he island o Cuba. The ques ion he e o e emains:
whe e does i come om, and o which cu en ly known species does i belong?
Resul s
The key o answe ing hese ques ions is p o ided by a no e al eady known o
Ch is ensen (1920: 44) and quo ed by him in he ollowing e ms: “On a label
in he b. Me . (B) Me enius has w i en: ‘Aspidium ame is oneu on Fée ined.
Mexico. Tabasco. 1489. Ju gensen.’”
This e y label (Fig. 3a) s ill exis s in he Be lin he ba ium, whe e i is glued
o a shee wi h no plan s on i . I was associa ed in he same olde wi h wo
o he shee s om he Kuhn o Me enius he ba ium, bo h collec ed by C. W igh
“in Cuba o ien ali, Sep . 1859–Jan. 1860” and dis ibu ed as No. 1055. One o
hese was iden i ied by Me enius as “Aspidium ube cula um,” a name ha ap-
pa en ly has ne e been published, and bo h a e pa s o he o iginal ma e ial
o Neph odium g isebachii Bake (C eni is g isebachii (Bake ) Ching), a wide-
sp ead Neo opical species ha is indeed p esen in eas e n Cuba.
Ch is ensen (l.c.) co ec ly concluded “ ha Me enius’ no e is igh , ha he
species o Fée is eally Mexican.” Un o una ely, Ch is ensen mis ead a ( o us)
illegible wo d on he label as “Ju gensen,” ea ing i as he collec o ’s name
(when in ac no collec o so named is known o ha e isi ed he New Wo ld in
he 19 h cen u y). O he wise, Ch is ensen would doub less ha e concluded ha
he specimen associa ed wi h he label was none o he han a duplica e om
he ga he ing Linden 1489, made a Teapa, Tabasco (Mexico), in Janua y 1840,
and hus an isosyn ype o Aspidium lindenii Kuhn, now ea ed as a synonym
o C eni is sal inii (Bake ) S olze. Such a conclusion is inescapable, gi en he
iden i y o p o enance (Tabasco, Mexico) and collec o ’s numbe (1489), as
well as he close simila i y o he wo species conce ned.
Mos likely, Me enius, when p epa ing o send o Fée a duplica e o Lin-
den 1489 om his own he ba ium (keeping o himsel one ond, now B
#200058730), made a copy o he o iginal label and hen o go o include i
when mailing he specimen. He may ha e men ioned Linden as he collec o in
an accompanying no e. Linden’s main and bes -known Neo opical collec ions
being hose om Cuba, Fée may hen ha e been misled o in e a Cuban o i-
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Phy oKeys 265: 233–239 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/phy okeys.265.173094
We ne G eu e & Rosa Glo ia Rankin Rod íguez: Sho Ti le
Figu e 1. The holo ype o Aspidium ame is oneu on Fée (RB #543192). P o ided and ep oduced by kind pe mission o
he cu a o , Cla ice Ma ins Ribei o, o he He bá io Dimi i Suc e, Ja dim Bo ânico do Rio de Janei o.
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Phy oKeys 265: 233–239 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/phy okeys.265.173094
We ne G eu e & Rosa Glo ia Rankin Rod íguez: Sho Ti le
Figu e 2. Fée’s label o he holo ype specimen ( om Fig. 1).
Figu e 3. a. Label, wi hou specimen, in Me enius’s handw i ing, in Be lin (B), which is ob iously a copy o he label o he
specimen Linden 1489 (B #200058730) in Me enius’s he ba ium; i is p esumably he missing label o he holo ype o As-
pidium ame is oneu on Fée (RB #543192). b. Fée’s desc ip i e no es o his new Aspidium ame is oneu on, p esumably sen
o Me enius upon eceip o he (p ospec i e) holo ype specimen. Cu en ly glued o he same shee as he label in Fig. 3a.
gin o he specimen. His handw i en desc ip ion (Fig. 3b), glued on he Be lin
shee , is likely Fée’s acknowledgmen and iden i ica ion o he ecei ed ma e-
ial. All his is o some ex en conjec u al bu pe ec ly explains he epo ed
ac ual e idence.
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Phy oKeys 265: 233–239 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/phy okeys.265.173094
We ne G eu e & Rosa Glo ia Rankin Rod íguez: Sho Ti le
Conclusion
A nomencla u al diges o he wo species ollows, o cla i y unmis akably
ou conclusion.
C eni is g isebachii (Bake ) Ching in Sunya senia 5: 250. 1940.
≡ Neph odium g isebachii Bake in Hooke and Bake , Syn. Fil.: 285. 1867. Lec-
o ype (de ailed he e): [specimen] in Cuba o ien ali, [p o . San iago de Cuba,
“p ope La Guinea”, 14-XII-1859 (acco ding o label o YU #804)], W igh 1055 (K
##590310!, 590311! [one specimen moun ed on 2 shee s]; isolec o ypes?: B
##200052230!–200052231!, BM ##605204–605205 [ o os!], BR ##5798568,
5839421 [ o os!]), GH #21050 [ o o!], K ##590312!, 1096164 [ o o!], PH
#19281 [ o o!], S #6-471 [ o o!], US #67023 [ o o!], YU #802–804 [ o os!]).
≡ D yop e is g isebachii (Bake ) Kun ze, Re is. Gen. Pl. 1–2: 812. 1891.
Dis ibu ion. S. Mexico, Cen al Ame ica, Cuba, and Jamaica (PoWo 2025+).
C eni is ame is oneu os (Fée) G eu e & R. Rankin, comb. no .
≡ Aspidium ame is oneu on (‘ame is one on’) Fée, Mém. Foug. 8, Ic. Esp. Nou .:
104. 1857. Holo ype: [specimen] “Cuba” (in e o ), wi hou da e and collec o
[in ac : México, Teapa, Tabasco, Jan. 1840, Linden 1489] (RB #543192 [ o o!];
iso ypes (by implica ion) a e lis ed below as ypes o Aspidium lindenii.
≡ Las ea ame is oneu os (‘ame is oneu a’) (Fée) T. Moo e in Index Fil.: 85. 1858.
≡ D yop e is ame is oneu os (‘ame is oneu a’) Fée) C. Ch ., Index Filic.: 251. 1905.
= Neph odium sal inii (‘Sal ini’) Bake in Hooke and Bake , Syn. Fil.: 274. 1867
≡ D yop e is sal inii (Bake ) Kun ze, Re is. Gen. Pl. 2: 813. 1891 – Lec o ype
(speci ied by S olze 1977: 43): [specimen] “Gua emala”, Sal in and Godman
(K #590305 [ex he b. Hooke ; o o!]; isolec o ype: B #200065533 [ agm.!]).
– These a e a he same ime syn ypes (iso ypes o pa alec o ypes) o As-
pidium lindenii.
≡ C eni is sal inii (Bake ) S olze in Ame . Fe n J. 67: 43. 1977.
= Aspidium lindenii (‘Lindeni’) Kuhn in Linnaea 36: 116. 1869 – Lec o ype (Mick-
el and Bei el 1988: 134): [specimen] Mexico, Linden 1489 (B #200058730!
[ex he b. Me enius, “exac e quad a / Aspidium decipiens” [ined.]]; isolec-
o ypes: BR #13512019, GH #21115 [“Tabasco, Teapa, oche s humides”,
Jan 1840, ex he b. T. Moo e; o o!], K #590302 [“ oche s humides de Teapa
(Tabasco)”, ex he b. Hooke ; o o!].
≡ Neph odium lindenii (Kuhn) Bake in Hooke and Bake , Syn. Fil., ed. 2.: 493.
1874.
≡ D yop e is lindenii (Kuhn) Kun ze in Re is. Gen. Pl. 1–2: 813. 1891.
≡ C eni is lindenii (Kuhn) A. R. Sm. in P oc. Cali . Acad. Sci., se . 4, 40: 229. 1975.
Dis ibu ion. Endémic o SE México (Yuca án o Ve ac uz and Chiapas) and
no he n Cen al Amé ica (Belice, Gua emala) (PoWo 2025+, unde C eni is
sal inii); absen om he An illes.
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Phy oKeys 265: 233–239 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/phy okeys.265.173094
We ne G eu e & Rosa Glo ia Rankin Rod íguez: Sho Ti le
Acknowledgmen s
We a e g a e ul o B igi e Zimme , cu a o eme i us o p e idophy es, o he
assis ance in ou sea ches o e idence and in o ma i e i ems in he Be lin
he ba ium (B).
Addi ional in o ma ion
Con lic o in e es
The au ho s ha e decla ed ha no compe ing in e es s exis .
E hical s a emen
No e hical s a emen was epo ed.
Use o AI
No use o AI was epo ed.
Funding
We acknowledge suppo om he S i ung He ba ium G eu e in Be lin o co e ing he
p in ing cos o his pape .
Au ho con ibu ions
Concep ualiza ion: WG. Da a cu a ion: RRR.
Au ho ORCIDs
We ne G eu e h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-8677-7544
Rosa Glo ia Rankin Rod íguez h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-7328-0395
Da a a ailabili y
All o he da a ha suppo he indings o his s udy a e a ailable in he main ex .
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