The neglected name Statice auriculifolia (Plumbaginaceae) and its related names: A long history of nomenclatural intricacy

The authors studied Statice names derived from the Tournefortianum “Limonium Lusitanicum, Auriculae Ursi folio”. The name S. auriculaeursifolia, basionym of the accepted Limonium auriculaeursifolium, is typified by a specimen in Lamarck's herbarium in Paris. The controversial name S. auriculifolia, often regarded as a synonym of L. auriculaeursifolium, corresponds instead to L. nydeggeri, employed for a narrowly endemic plant of Portugal, and has priority over that name. Statice auriculifolia is lectotypified by a specimen in Tournefort's herbarium. In addition, the related names S. lychnidifolia, S. willdenovii (both illegitimate and synonyms of L. auriculaeursifolium), and S. ovalifolium are discussed. Finally, the taxon to which the invalid name “L. ovalifolium subsp. gallicum” has been applied, has a legitimate name at the specific rank: L. gallicum Domina. This latter name, however, is a taxonomic synonym of L. ovalifolium.