Botanical Nomenclature

Whether communicating with a fellow practitioner, looking up research on a plant, or checking official legislation, plant names are essential to practising herbal medicine. However, names used to refer to Chinese Materia Medica (CMM) are complicated by the fact that one name can refer to several species, and these names can mean different things to different people. This creates potential for inaccuracies and miscommunication.

This article begins by giving an overview of the different names used in traditional Chinese medicine; whilst these names are useful for defining a drug entity, it is often not clear what species of plant they refer to and that they are defined differently in different publications. It then explores the benefits of using scientific names whilst also exploring the difficulties their use can present.

It goes on to cover the work Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS), a project based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has been doing to highlight and help resolve these issues. MPNS has created a global resource that indexes the many different names in use and links them to up to date scientific classification. This resource is publicly available and its aim is to improve communication about medicinal plants. MPNS also advises on best practice in the use of plant names and works with global health regulators to ensure accuracy.

Valid publication of the nothogeneric names ×​Barvriesea​, ×​Billya​, ×​Forzzanthus​, ×​Forzzautskyia​, ×​Guzgoudaea​, ×​Guzlutheria​, ×​Hohenquesmea​, ×​Luthandsia​, ×​Nidusincoraea​, ×​Orthocohnia​, ×​Rokautanthus​, ×​Rokautsincoraea​, ×​Sincoraechmea​, ×​Sincoregelia​, ×​Sincorglaziovia​, ×​Sincorphytum​, ​×Sincortanthus​, ×​Vriesgoudaea​, ×​Vrieslutheria​, ×​Wallandsia​, ​×Wallfussia and ×​Zizkagoudaea​, ​and two new combinations, ×​Guzlutheria magnifica​ and ×​Sincoregelia lymanii​ (Bromeliaceae). 

In 2014 James S. Boatwright and John Charles Manning transferred ​Aloë1 aristata to the monotypic genus ​Aristaloë and Aloë dinteri,​ ​Aloë sladeniana and ​Aloë variegata to ​Gonialoë.​ 2013 saw the revival of ​Kumara​, a genus to which ​Aloë disticha var. plicatilis ​and A​loë haemanthifolia ​were assigned. These changes necessitate several new nothogenera for 
intergeneric hybrids involving these species, two of which, ×​Gastonialoë ​and ×​Gonimara,​ have already been proposed. 

Según Rzedowski (1991b) y Toledo (1994), la zona de máxima concentración de flora vascular se extiende en México de Chiapas a Oaxaca y de ahí se bifurca en dos franjas, que van disminuyendo su diversidad a medida que se alejan hacia el norte. Una se dirige hacia el centro de Veracruz y el otro rumbo a Sinaloa y Durango. Lamentablemente la diversidad de esta última franja occidental está aún mal conocida; sobre todo en lo que toca a la Sierra Madre Occidental, o más específicamente el estado de Sinaloa y partes de Chihuahua, Sonora, Durango y Nayarit (C. Rodríguez y Villaseñor, 1987; Dávila, 1992 y Chiang, 1993). La falta de estudios botánicos en la región sigue siendo un factor determinante que limita las estimaciones reales de la riqueza florística presente. La variación fisiográfica y climática manifestada por la presencia de la zona costera al oeste, la serranía al noreste, el desierto al norte, y la zona húmeda al sur, así como la variable altitudinal de 0-2 710 m s.n.m., hacen de Sinaloa un área con variados hábitats. Además, la presencia de la Provincia de la Sierra Madre Occidental de la Región Mesoamericana de Montaña con influencia del Reino Holártico, la Provincia de la Planicie Costera del Noroeste de la Región Xerofítica Mexicana y la Provincia de la Costa Pacífica de la Región Caribea del Reino Neotropical (Rzedowski, 1978), indudablemente propician la presencia de una riqueza vegetal que, aunque todavía no es conocida con precisión, Vega et al. (1989) la estiman en alrededor de 3 500 especies de plantas vasculares.
En el municipio de Culiacán están en contacto dos provincias florísticas, la Planicie Costera del Noroeste y la Costa Pacífica. Por lo tanto, es de esperarse una relación con floras afines como la del desierto de Sonora y de áreas tropicales, según los criterios de riqueza y endemismos que señala Rzedowski (1991a, 1991b). Son pocos los trabajos precedentes que permiten estimar la riqueza florística del estado y en particular la del municipio de Culiacán. Entre los más importantes se pueden citar los de Brandegee (1905, 1908), Ponce de León (1909), Riley (1923, 1924), González O. (1927, 1929), Quintanar (1938), Gentry (1940, 1946, 1948) y Sánchez (1961). En fechas relativamente recientes el estado de Sinaloa ha sido objeto de trabajos sistemáticos encaminados a inventariar su diversidad vegetal. Entre los primeros resultados se pueden mencionar el recuento de la Flora de Sinaloa (Vega et al., 1989), las malezas del Valle de Culiacán (Bojórquez y Vega, 1989), el estudio florístico de la Península de Lucenilla (Hernández y Vega, 1989) y la flora de la Isla Venados (Flores et al., 1996). Por otra parte, se han iniciado los estudios taxonómicos de algunos grupos vegetales presentes en la entidad (Vega, 1991, 1992). Un recuento actualizado, aunque preliminar de su flora, arroja la cifra de 2 792 especies de plantas vasculares, distribuidas en 978 géneros y 202 familias.
Con el propósito de contribuir al conocimiento de la flora de Sinaloa, en el 2013 se inicia el estudio en una zona periurbana del municipio de Culiacán.). El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo la elaboración de una lista florística de los taxa presentes en el área de estudio, así como el análisis de su distribución en los estados que conforman la región y tipo de vegetación donde se han detectado.

The Indian species Portulaca suffruticosa has been confused with other taxa by many previous authors, due to lack of field collections and a paucity of specimens in Indian herbaria. Following a morphological taxonomic study supported by new field collections, P. suffruticosa is confirmed as an accepted species endemic to southern India and Sri Lanka, and as distinct from P. pilosa and P. tuberosa. The more recently described species P. lakshminarasimhaniana and P. laljii are considered to be conspecific with P. suffruticosa, and P. badamica conspecific with P. tuberosa; their names are accordingly synonymised. Lectotypifications of the names P. suffruticosa Wight, P. tuberosa Roxb. and P. wightiana Wall. ex Wight & Arn. were found to be necessary to avoid future misapplication of names and full descriptions of these three species are provided. A key to all Indian species of Portulaca is provided.

Demaio et al. (2011) recognized seven subgenera in the cactus genus G​ymnocalycium​: ​Gymnocalycium (type: ​G. gibbosum​), Macrosemineum (G​. denudatum​), ​Microsemineum (​G. saglionis​), Muscosemineum (​G. mihanovichii​), ​Pirisemineum (​G. pflanzii​), Scabrosemineum ​(G​. monvillei​) and ​Trichomosemineum ​(​G. quehlianum​). 

Several hybrids between ​Gymnocalycium ​species are known to exist. The five listed below have been given nothospecific names, although two only have combinations in ​Echinocactus. New combinations for these taxa are made here. 

This ethnographic study of folk biology among the Tobelo (a West Papuan-speaking ethnic group of Halmahera Island, Maluku, Indonesia) outlines local cultural presumptions about classifying flora and fauna, describes the system of folk biological nomenclature in terms consistent with the morphology and syntax of the Tobelo language, and analyzes the local system of folk classification within a posited semantic domain of "biotic forms."
    In the local linguistic context, dialectal differences, multilingualism, an apparently strict in-law name taboo, and particular speech registers for which Tobelo consider their own language inappropriate are shown to affect word formation, the adoption of foreign plant and animal names, and other aspects of ethnobiological classification. Culturally, the belief that names for plants and animals were set down by ancestors vastly more familiar with local biota than are their descendants, the notion that there is a "proper" name for virtually all easily visible plants and animals, and that much knowledge is and should remain esoteric, justify several alternative ways in which the Tobelo may reconcile individual or dialectal variation to determine "proper" details of classification consistent with these presumptions.
    Nomenclature is considered in detail. The importance of recognizing the lexemic status of homonymous and polysemous terms is illustrated; and means of recognizing lexemes having the same form as non-lexemic expressions are detailed. A morphosyntactic classification of lexemic types is here applied to the formation of terms in this domain.
    Unlabeled classes within this semantic domain (including the highest-level class BIOTIC FORM) are posited, and new methods are presented for determining and evaluating such "covert categories." A critique of other procedures based on perceived similarities among plants and animals shows that the only local cultural significance of those classes may be their sudden appearance as a result of tests designed to find them, that similarities observed may not be those used in hierarchically relating folk taxa, and that such classes do not in any case belong in a linguistic description. From a systematic review of Tobelo lexemes it is possible to avoid these difficulties.
    The analysis of Tobelo folk biological classification (the system of semantic relations among usually lexically labeled classes) provides various types of evidence for the distinctiveness of a "basic" level, and details methods for distinguishing basic terms. Taxonomic relations order the set of hierarchically related folk classes into eleven levels: the widest or "basic" level, along with six above and four below. on-"regular" elements of this folk taxonomy include nonsymmetric and disjunctive contrast, "residue" of higher-level classes, ambiguous subclass-superclass relations, and dual structural positions of a single class in the overall hierarchic structure.
    Also analyzed are other types of semantic relations among folk classes, including a 'mother'-'child' relation among FAUN AL FORMS, crosscutting and intersecting subclasses of the basic class, and classification by growth stage and size. The Tobelo are able to use these methods of classifying local fauna and flora to justify the observed differences among themselves (or among Tobelo dialects) in how they classify the same plants and animals. They even sometimes use this classificatory system to productively predict the existence of plants and
animals that have not yet been observed, much as our chemists once used the Periodic Table of the Elements to predict the existence of elements that had not been observed.
    Detailed folk classificatory, nomenclatural, and systematic botanical and zoological information for all recorded BIOTIC FORMS is given in the appendixes, which are based upon extensive collections of Halmaheran terrestrial and marine animals and plants, along with their associated ethnographic information.

Liabum (Asteraceae), one of the most important genera of the tribe Liabeae in terms of number of species and extent of overall distribution, was the subject of a revisionary study. The genus consists of perennial herbs, subshrubs, or shrubs, rarely scandent shrubs or small trees, without latex, with opposite, tripliveined leaves, radiate, heterogamous capitula, and yellow corollas. The morphology and anatomy of Liabum
were studied; in addition, a principal component analysis of 100 samples representing the morphological variation and geographic distribution of Liabum in the Caribbean was conducted, resulting in recognition of a single highly variable species, L. umbellatum. Descriptions, illustrations, and maps for each species, and the first key distinguishing the species of Liabum are presented. This revision recognizes 22 species distributed from southeastern Mexico to northwestern Argentina, and in Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola, including two new species from Ecuador and Peru, Liabum dillonii D. G. Gutiérrez & Katinas and L. robinsonii D. G. Gutiérrez & Katinas, respectively. The main center of species diversity for the genus is in Peru. In addition, new synonyms are proposed, and 151 names of taxa are excluded from Liabum. Liabum onoserifolium S. Díaz & Rodríguez-Cabeza from Colombia is transferred to the genus Munnozia as Munnozia onoserifolia (S. Díaz & Rodríguez-Cabeza) D.
G. Gutiérrez & Katinas.

Depuis quelques années, le nombre de publications de nouveaux taxons d'orchidées européennes augmente à un rythme que certains jugent déraisonnable. Une étude statistique comparative entre le nombre d'Angiospermes, d'Orchidaceae et d'orchidées européennes connus à différentes époques depuis Linné (1753) tend à relativiser ce point de vue et inscrire naturellement l'augmentation du catalogue des orchidées d'Europe dans les progrès des connaissances en matière de biodiversité végétale. Les notions complexes d'espèce et de processus de spéciation, aux approches très diverses, sont évoquées en fin d'article. Abstract : For many years, the number of new descriptions in the European orchids group is so increasing that some people consider it as unreasonable. A statistical analysis based on the numbers of Angiosperms, Orchidaceae and European orchids described throughout the history of modern botany (since 1753) aims to relativise this opinion because the increasing number of European orchids could be the natural consequence of a better knowledge about biodiversity in the vegetal kingdom. The difficult concepts of species and speciation, so variously interpreted, are also approached in the last part.

É apresentado o levantamento das espécies de Encyclia (Orchidaceae) ocorrentes no estado da Bahia, Brasil, como contribuição à flora do Estado. São reconhecidas 13 espécies e uma variedade de Encyclia na Bahia. É apresentada uma chave de identificação, além de descrições, ilustrações e comentários gerais para os táxons. É proposta a sinonimização de E. silvana sob E. bohnkiana e a lectotipificação de Epidendrum roseum e sua sinonimização sob Encyclia dichroma. Palavras-chave adicionais: Brasil, orquídea, taxonomia. Abstract (Flora of Bahia: Encyclia (Orchidaceae)) – A survey of Encyclia (Orchidaceae) species in Bahia state, Brazil, is performed as a contribution to the flora of this region. We recognized 13 species, and one variety of Encyclia from Bahia. A key for identification, descriptions, illustrations and commentaries for taxa are presented. We propose the synonymization of E. silvana under E. bohnkiana and the lectotypification of Epidendrum roseum and its synonymization under Encyclia dichroma.

Bauhinia phoenicea is endemic to the Western Ghats of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is assessed as Vulnerable as per the IUCN red list criteria using primary and secondary information on trends in EOO, AOO and sub-populations. Taxonomy of the species, distribution, variability in the number of fertile stamens, and causes of rarity are discussed. Lectotypification is also made for B. benthamii, a taxonomic synonym of B. phoenicea.

A cross-check of botanical names databases revealed the presence of 19 cases of homonymy which are hereby resolved by proposing replacement names. Most cases concern diatom genera (Bacillariophyta) names which are preoccupied by spermatophytes. While Loranthella nom. nov. (Spermatophyta, Loranthaceae) and Ochradiscus nom. nov. (Spermatophyta, Resedaceae) are proposed as new names for spermatophytes, new diatom names are proposed for genera that are currently placed in the families Amphipleuraceae, Coscinodiscaceae, Hemiaulaceae, Hemidiscaceae, Melosiraceae, Metascolionei-daceae nom. nov., Naviculaceae, Pyxillaceae, Stictodiscaceae and Surirellaceae. With one exception (i.e. Eileencoxia nom. nov.) all remaining diatom genera that are discussed in the present paper are marine and/or fossil elements. The particulari-ties of each case are briefly discussed. A total of one hundred and three new combinations are proposed.

Recently described species Rivina andamanensis L.J. Singh & M.C. Naik from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, is synonymised under Rivina humilis L. We studied the morphological variations in the unispecific genus Rivina from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana (southern India), Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand (northern India) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and concluded that R. humilis is highly polymorphic species. Lectotypes are designated for three names Rivina orientalis Moq., Rivina portulaccoides Nutt. and Rivina puberula Kunth.

Описано історію створення колекції нетрадиційних (малопоширених) плодових й декоративних рослин НУБіП України у відокремленому підрозділі університету "Агрономічна дослідна станція та зміни в її кількісному стані. Нині колекція налічує 284 видів дерев та чагарників 52 родів 16 родин, в т.ч. 552 сортів і добірних форм.  Загальна кількість зразків 1183. Наведено відомості про інтродукційний номер, видову й сортову назву та походження колекційних зразків. У зв'язку з таксономічними змінами в роді Sorbus s.l. запропоновано чисельні нові комбінування в родах Aria, Hedlundia і Micromeles (Rosaceae).

The history of formation of the collection of rare fruit and ornamental plants in the Agronomic Experimental Station of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine is described. Now the collection includes 284 species of trees and shrubs, which belong to 52 genera and 16 families. There are total 1183 accessions, including 552 cultivars and selects. Accession number, species and cultivar names, and as well as the origin of samples are specified. Numerous new binominal combination are proposed in genera Aria, Hedlundia, and Micromeles (Rosaceae).

The current lectotype of Lycopus europaeus, Herb. Linnaeus No. 36.1 (LINN), consists of two plant fragments, which represent different species: L. europaeus (as currently applied) and L. exaltatus. The plant on the left, which represents L. europaeus, is designated as a new lectotype because it is the element that is in agreement with the validating diagnosis and the current usage of the name.

In order to keep in line with the current circumscription of the genus Cattleya (Orchidaceae), ten new combinations are proposed for species and nothospecies originally published in Hoffmannseggella. These taxa should be classified in Cattleya series Parviflorae.

Les  noms  vernaculaires  des  plantes  nous  en  apprennent  souvent  beaucoup  sur  leurs propriétés : bien avant l’avènement de la taxonomie moderne, nos ancêtres se fiaient sur leurs connaissances du monde pour nommer les éléments de leur réalité physique. Le lien entre le  nom et l’espèce est parfois clair : on voit bien pourquoi les boutons d’or ont été baptisés de la sorte. Il est cependant des cas où le lien entre l’utilité ou l’aspect d’une plante et son nom n’est pas évident, et c’est le cas du bois de plomb, appellation populaire du Dirca palustris. Il n’y a pas de consensus sur la signification et sur l’origine de ce nom. Cette brève note étymologique vise à offrir un portrait plausible de l’implantation de cette expression dans le lexique des Canadiens français.

In carrying out fieldwork among the Tobelorese (or "Tobelo") people of Halmahera Island, Indonesia, the daily speech of conversations heard and joined in forms our primary data on the ideational forms of the people. In the study of folk classification, as in other studies of ideational forms, our first and continuing task in understanding these data is to separate the chains of speech into analyzable units, and then to explore the interrelationships among the classes of objects those units designate.

    This paper presents results of a study of Tobelorese plant and
animal nomenclature, as one aspect of a study of the Tobelorese folk
classification of animals and plants. The Tobelorese, like people everywhere, group animals and plants into classes that are often lexically realized (that is, some unit of speech often exists in the Tobelorese lexicon to "designate" the class, and that unit of speech can be used to "denote" any particular member of the class). Wh1le folk classification refers to the culturally shared set of relationships of these usually lexically labelled classes to one another, "nomenclature" refers to the system of naming these classes.

Abstract: Contributions to an updated list of the German flora (Pteridophyta, Spermatophyta) – Sixth instalment. Further additions and corrections to the “List of vascular plants of Germany” published in 2008 are necessary. 17 taxa, including 1 established alien, have to be added, 4 taxa have to be omitted.

The Abui Botanical Corpus Online - Healing Plants

https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/abui/home/

The Abui Healing Plants Project is focused on the documentation of the names of medicinal plant names in Abui, providing their gloss, the etymology of the phytonyms, the names and their categories in binomial nomenclature, the oral traditional stories in Abui culture connected with the names, and the cultural relevance of the plants themselves.

The INTERNATIONAL FOSSIL PLANT
NAMES INDEX (IFPNI) was first launched
in May, 2014 as a data base of fossil names
of plants, algae, fungi, allied prokaryotic
forms (formerly treated as algae and
Ñyanophyceae in particular), algae-related
protists and fossil microproblematica
(so-called ambiregnal organisms) published
in using binary nomenclature. The goal of
the IFPNI was also to compile and maintain
a comprehensive literature based record of these fossil scientific names and bank of
author names in palaeobotany. In modern
plant science there was no previously
comprehensive united index of recorded
fossil forms of algae, cyanobacteria and
related prokaryotic microorganisms
(interpreted in the past as algae), fungi and
plants, which were all described since early
XIX century up to our days.

Seventeen species and five varieties of Indian Leucas R. Br. are lectotypified here: Leucas angustissima Sedgw.,
L. ciliata Benth., L. clarkei Hook.f., L. decemdentata (Willd.) Sm. var. angustifolia (Wall. ex Benth.) V.Singh,
L. eriostoma Hook.f. var. lanata Hook.f., L. helicterifolia Haines, L. hyssopifolia Benth., L. lamiifolia Desf.,
L. lanata Benth., L. lanceaefolia Desf., L. longifolia Benth., L. montana (B. Heyne ex Roth) Spreng., L. prostrata
(Hook.f.) Gamble, L. pubescens Benth., L. rosmarinifolia Benth., L. stelligera Wall. ex Benth., L. stricta Benth.,
L. suffruticosa Benth., L. vestita Benth. var. angustifolia Hook.f., L. vestita Benth. var. oblongifolia Hook.f.,
L. vestita Benth. var. sericostoma Hook.f. and L. wightiana Wall. ex Benth.

The tribe Hylocereeae as circumscribed by Korotkova et al. (2017) consists of the genera ​Acanthocereus​, ​Aporocactus​, Disocactus​, ​Epiphyllum​, ​Selenicereus​, Pseudorhipsalis​, Kimnachia and ​Weberocereus. In recent years several nomenclatural changes were proposed: Cruz et al. (2016) reinstated the genus ​Aporocactus ​and moved ​Epiphyllum anguliger​, E​. crenatum and ​E. lepidocarpum to ​Disocactus​; Hunt (2017) reduced ​Hylocereus to synonymy under ​Selenicereus​; and 
Korotkova et al. (2017) moved ​Weberocereus glaber ​and ​W. tonduzii​ to S​elenicereus.​ Many species belonging to Hylocereeae are grown as 
ornamental plants for their often spectacular flowers. Since the
early 1900s literally thousands of interspecific and intergeneric hybrids have been created, giving rise to dozens of nothogenera and nothospecies. Many of these do not reflect the name changes mentioned above. Therefore, 16 new nothogenera and 15 new combinations for nothogenera are proposed in this article. 

Народните наименования на растенията са точката на познанието, в която се срещат ботаниката с митология, фолклор, лингвистика и филология. Народите са изобретателни да дават наименования на растенията или да превеждат или
видоизменят чужди наименования до неузнаваемост. Обект на народното познание са растенията, които човекът познава и използва. Около 23% от растенията в България имат народни наименования. Подбудите да бъде дадено едно или друго име са различни, както при отделните народи, така и в различи области на една страна. Давайки имена на растенията народа създава собствена номенклатура подреждане и структуриране на растенията в групи. Създаването на народните имена е плод на народно творчество и динамичен процес. Проучването на тяхното разнообразие и връзката им с научното знание за растенията във всеки един исторически момент е от значение за разкриване отношението на българския народ към природата и в частност растенията, неговата наблюдателност и способност да анализира и подрежда в съподчиненост видяното по комплекс от белези и явления. Установяването на тези закономерности и тенденции разкрива начина на таксономично мислене на българския народ. Настоящето проучване дава представа за разнообразието от народни наименования и разкрие закономерностите при тяхното създаване от ботаническа гледна точка.

Abstract: Contributions to an updated list of the German flora (Pteridophyta, Spermatophyta) – Seventh instalment. Further additions and corrections to the “List of vascular plants of Germany” published in 2008 are necessary. 14 taxa, including 4 established aliens, have to be added, 3 taxa have to be omitted. Starting with the current instalment the literature review „Taxonomic and nomenclatural novelties to the German flora“, published in Kochia since 2006, is being merged with this series. New combinations for Epilobium ciliatum subsp. adenocaulon and Hieracium austrobavaricum and a typification for Euphrasia rostkoviana are provided.