Yes Dinesh ji The real confusion started when basionym author was included wrongly as L. (not knowing about Chonemorpha antidysenterica of G. Don). The the Wikipedia has confused the things further.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrightia_antidysenterica -- Dr. Gurcharan Singh Retired Associate Professor SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 http://www.gurcharanfamily.com/ http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ On Fri, Nov 23, 2012 at 10:47 AM, Dinesh Valke <[email protected]>wrote: > Thank you very much Gurcharan ji for this clarity and analysis of > confusing identities. > From the references I read and use, I find kutaja is *Holarrhena pubescens > * Wall. ex G. Don (earlier literature quote *Holarrhena antidysenterica*Wall. > Ex A. DC.). > All other plants related to qualities of kutaja have some descriptors > prefixed - like sweta-kutaja, stri-kutaja, pun-kutaja &c. > Many thanks once again. > Regards. > Dinesh > > > > On Fri, Nov 23, 2012 at 11:55 PM, Gurcharan Singh <[email protected]>wrote: > >> The plants are very distinct, no one ever confuses them. One without >> corona now correctly known as Holarrhena pubescens, commonly known as >> Indrajao, feverpod and perhaps the real Kutaja of Ayurveda. >> The other is the Wrightia antidysenterica, the coral swirl popularly >> sold in nurseries under the name arcticsnow, Snowflake. A plant with >> distinct corona, petals distinctly obovate, also known as Meethi indrajao. >> Let us also bring in the related species Wrightia tinctoria with smaller >> flowers, linear petals, also known as sweet indrajao >> >> To resolve this confusion let us go to the original descriptions in >> Flora of British India and synonyms. The first plant is described as named >> by Wallich and subsequently A. deCandolle, and hence citation Wall. ex DC. >> in recent publications. Wrightia antidysenterica Grah cited as synonym. FBI >> is not sure about synonymy of Chonemorpha antidysenterica G. Don. >> Wrightia tinctoria is a distinct species and should not come in >> confusion except for names indrajao and kutaja sometimes applied. >> The third crucial plant is one described as Wrightia zeylonica (L.) R.Br. >> with Nerium antidysentericum L. and Nerium zeylanicum L. >> At the time Flora of British India, synonyms were cited but >> basionym author was not included in the accepted name. When this practice >> started Chonemorpha G. Don remained unknown and combination came to be >> known as Holarrhena antidysenterica (L.) Wall. ex A. DC., many not >> bothering to know where this L. came from, even after recently it has been >> understood that correct name for this plant been understood as H. >> pubescens. Pl. see citations below: >> http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=115580 >> http://database.prota.org/PROTAhtml/Holarrhena%20pubescens_En.htm >> http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/tro-1800031 >> The second website, though a very reputed one, but puts first black and >> white illustration correctly but coloured photograph shows Wrightia >> antidydenterica. The Plant List worst confused, even putting H. pubscens as >> unresolved name. The correct synonymy can be seen at: >> http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?102211 >> http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=210000702 >> >> The second plant very distinct though remained in confusion because >> people remembered L., but forgot where it came from till it was finally >> known that Wrightia zeylanica (L.) R. Br. be correctly known as Wrightia >> antidysenterica (L.) R. Br., and it is based on Nerium antidysentericum. >> http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?451290 >> >> The unfortunate thing being that people remembered antidysenterica >> but never bothered to know where it came from, and got tagged wrongly to >> Holarrhena antidydenterica (L.) Wall. ex A. DC., instead of correct H. >> anitdysenterica (G. Don) Wall. ex A.DC. >> as synonym for H. pubescens. Perhaps also important to mention that >> earliest name for this species was given by Roth in 1821 as Echites >> antidysenterica 1821 as against Chonemorpha antidysenteria G Don, 1838, but >> Roth's name can't be taken as basionym (Roth can't go in parenthesis) as it >> is a a later homonym of Echites antidysenterica (L.) Roxb. ex Fleming. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> Dr. Gurcharan Singh >> Retired Associate Professor >> SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 >> Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. >> Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 >> http://www.gurcharanfamily.com/ >> http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ >> >> -- >> >> >> >> > > --
