Cistus pouzolzii Delile
(Fig. 1)
Supplementum seminum anni 1839, ex Horto Botanico regio Monspeliensi: 2 (Delile 1840).
TYPE MATERIAL. — France • Gard, La Grand-Combe près d’Alais et le Vigan; s.d.; P.M.C. de Pouzolz [s.n.]; lectotype: P[P00789786]! (Fig. 1), here designated.
TYPIFICATION REMARKS
Cistus pouzolzii was discovered by Pierre Marie Casimir de Pouzolz and validly published by Delile (1840) as a new species from the Hortus regius Monspeliensis. The diagnosis of the protologue is very precise: “ Cistus Pouzolzii. Nova species in Hort. Monsp. Cinereo-glaucus, pilosus; foliis sessilibus oblongis nervosis, vernalibus margine crispis; pedunculis cymosis subsecundis; calycis fructiferi sepalis exterioribus auriculatocordatis, capsula ovatà, apice sericeo-pilosulà ” [Cistus Pouzolzii. New species in Hort. Monsp. Cinereous-glaucous, pilose; leaves sessile oblong nervose, vernals with crispate margins; peduncles subsecondly cymose; fruiting calyx outer sepals auriculate-cordate, capsule ovate with apex sericeous-pilosulose]. In addition to the Latin diagnosis, a French text is included with the indication of the type locality and the mention of the collector: “Cette espèce a été découverte dans le département du Gard, aux environs des villes d’Alais et du Vigan, par M. le capitaine De Pouzolz, de Nimes, qui [s]c’est occupé avec succés [sic.] du perfectionnement de la flore de France et de celle d’Espagne.” [This species was discovered in the department of Gard, near the towns of Alais and Vigan, by Captain De Pouzolz, from Nîmes, who successfully worked on improving the flora of France an that of Spain.]
Delile’s herbarium is preserved at the University of Montpellier (MPU), with duplicates in other herbaria (Stafleu & Cowan 1976 -1988). Seven sheets collected by Pouzolz between 1833 and 1838 have been located at MPU (MPU013797, MPU013798, MPU013799, MPU013800, MPU013801, MPU013802 and MPU013803), which, in addition to the original labels, were also labelled as “ Isosyntype ” by Andrine J. M. Faure. Further material at M, barcoded M0112494, bears a label without date but with the handwriting and signature of Delile (see Burdet 1974: 233): “HERBARIUM REGIUM MONACENSE. / Cistus Pouzolzii / quae habent semina non germinaverum / [signature of Delile] / D’alais. France meridionale / Delile / HERB. ZUCCARINII. / Herb. Univ. Ludov. Maximil.”. This specimen is a duplicate given by Delile to Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini (b.-d.), second curator of the herbarium of Munich (1835-1848); his herbarium was incorporated into M in 1849 (Hertel & Schreiber 1988).
At P, a relevant sheet barcoded P00789786 bears three labels, but without any date. Label 1 [handwritten by Delile]: “ Cistus pouzolzii – Alais / (Gard)”; Label 2 [handwritten by Pouzolz]:“ Cistus pouzolzii Delile / la grand-combe prés d’Alais / le Vigan / de Pouzolz”; Label 3 [printed label]: “HERB. MUS. PARIS. / Herbier donné par M. Loret.” The sheet is part of the herbarium donated by Henri Loret (1811-1888) to the Herbier du Muséum de Paris. Loret was in charge of the herbaria of the Université de Montpellier (Stafleu & Cowan 1976 -1988; Decoursier-Sandoz & Charpin 2023).
In conclusion, considering the handwritten labels and the collection dates, all the specimens mentioned above can be part of the original material used by Delile to describe his species. Unfortunately, none of these specimens belong to the same gathering, so they are not duplicates. Perhaps the only duplicates could be specimensMPU013797 andMPU013802, both collected in June 1837, apparently from the same locality. However, we selected the specimen barcodedP00789786 as the lectotype of the name Cistus pouzolzii. Its characters coincide completely with the diagnosis, as do the collector and the locality mentioned in the protologue. Furthemore, the specimen (leaves sessile, oblong with undulate margin; unilateral cyme; fruiting sepals cordate-ovate; petals equal to sepals in anthesis) is very complete and well preserved, which coincides with the traditional concept and current usage of the name (Rouy & Foucaud 1895; Tison & de Foucault 2014; Sánchez-Gómez et al. 2024).
Publication Date: 2026-06-12