Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 69(2): 167-177. 2017 
doi: 10.26492/gbs69(2).2017-02 
167 
Two new records of Litsea (Lauraceae) from Singapore 
and the lectotypification of twenty-two names 
from several Lauraceae genera 
R.PJ. de Kok 
Honorary Research Associate, Singapore Botanic Gardens, 
National Parks Board, 1 Cluny Road, 259569 Singapore 
dekokrogier@gmail.com 
ABSTRACT. Two species of Litsea (Lauraceae) are recorded for Singapore for the first time 
C Litsea spathacea Gamble and L. tomentosa Blume). Both species are known only from 19th 
century specimens and must be considered nationally extinct in Singapore. Descriptions and notes 
on distribution, conservation status and ecology are given. In addition, twenty-two Lauraceae 
names are lectotypified: Beilschmiedia curtisii Gamble, B. perakensis Gamble; Cinnamomum 
subavenium Miq.; Cryptocarya argentea Gamble, C. infectoria (Blume) Miq., C. tomentosa 
Blume; Lindera lucida (Blume) Boerl., L. malaccensis Hook.f.; Litsea accedens (Blume) Boerl., 
L. amara Blume var. attenuata Gamble, L. gracilis Gamble, L. gracilipes Hook.f., L. griffithii 
Gamble, L. lanceolata (Blume) Kosterm., L. machilifolia Gamble, L. machilifolia Gamble var. 
angustifolia Gamble, L. megacarpa Gamble, L. pustulata Gamble, L. sarawacensis Gamble, L. 
singaporensis Gamble, L. spathacea Gamble, L. umbellata (Lour.) Merr. 
Keywords. Beilschmiedia, Cinnamomum, Cryptocarya, Lindera, Litsea, Singapore 
Introduction 
Recently several genera of Lauraceae have been revised for the Flora of Singapore 
(Beilschmiedia Nees, Cinnamomum Schaeff., Cryptocarya R.Br., Lindera Thunb. and 
Litsea Lam.). The Lauraceae (Laurel Family) are of major ecological and economic 
importance in Southeast Asia as they comprise a major part of many forests in the 
region. In particular, species of the genus Cinnamomum are important as sources 
of various spices and several species have been introduced into Singapore for this 
purpose. In Singapore, there are two species of Beilschmiedia (de Kok, 2016a), five of 
Cinnamomum (de Kok, in prep.), seven of Cryptocarya (de Kok, 2015, 2016b), one 
of Lindera and eighteen of Litsea (de Kok, in prep.). These will be enumerated in the 
forthcoming Flora of Singapore. No species is endemic to Singapore. Unlike in the 
Lamiaceae (de Kok et ah, 2016), it is relatively easy to determine if a species is native 
or naturalised in Singapore. Two species are recorded from Singapore for the first 
time: Litsea tomentosa Blume, and L. spathacea Gamble. Both species are common 
in the lowland forests of Peninsular Malaysia and their occurrence in Singapore is 
therefore not a surprise. 
