The identity of Dubardella (Boerlagellaceae) and Pyrenaria (Theaceae)

Upon receiving a reprint of my paper on Pyrenaria (Theaceae) (Keng 1972), Dr. W. Vink of the Rijksherbarium, Leiden, kindly informed me (personal communication, dated 14th November, 1973) that the description and figure of Dubardella kinabaluensis H. J. Lam (1925) are strikingly similar to my description and drawings of Pyrenaria. In reviewing literature, the genus Dubardella Lam is monotypic and was dedicated to M. Dubard, a French taxonomist specialised in Sapotaceae. Together with Boerlagella Pierre ex Boerl., another monotypic genus from Sumatra, these two genera constitute the family Boerlagellaceae H. J. Lam. As Airy-Shaw (1966) commented: ‘(the family Boerlagellaceae are) an obscure and imperfectly known group, of very doubtful status’. In a separate entry, Airy-Shaw suggested (without certainty) that Dubardella might be synonymous with Adinandra of the Theaceae.