(1753) is a nomen conservandum, or conserved 

 name, for this woody climber of the southeastern 

 United States. 



For more than a century, nurseries confused two 

 commonly planted species in the genus 

 Ligustrum — L. japonicum Thunb., Japanese privet; 

 and L. lucidum Ait. f., wax-leaf privet. The name L. 

 lucidum was misapplied to the Japanese privet, 

 while the name L. japonicum was mistakenly 

 applied to the wax-leaf privet. These errors were 

 repeated year after year in nursery catalogs until 

 Roland Jefferson (1976) corrected them. The 

 problem was a simple case of applying the right 

 name to the right plant. 



Homonyms 



According to the Botanical Code, "A name, unless 

 conserved (Art. 14) or sanctioned under Art. 

 13.1(d), is illegitimate if it is a later homonym, 

 that is, if it is spelled exactly like a name based on 

 a different type that was previously and validly 

 published for a taxon of the same rank." Many 

 homonyms exist among plant names found in the 

 literature. For example, Linnaeus in 1753 pub- 

 lished Hex aquifolium as the name for English 

 holly (in the Aquifoliaceae, or holly family). In 

 1784, Thunberg used Ilex aquifolium for a Japa- 

 nese plant subsequently recognized as being in 

 the Oleaceae, or olive family. Placing the Japa- 

 nese plant in the genus Osmanthus of the 

 Oleaceae, Siebold in 1846 adopted the specific 

 epithet from Thunberg's name and published 

 Osmanthus aquifolium. But this name is illegiti- 

 mate, because Thunberg's name is a later hom- 

 onym, and the nomenclatural type for Rex 

 aquifolium is the English holly named by 

 Linnaeus. Because the earliest available specific 

 epithet for the Japanese plant is that from G. 

 Don's Ilex heterophylla (1832), the legitimate 

 name for the familiar holly olive is Osmanthus 

 heterophyllus (G.Don) P.S.Green var. 

 heterophyllus. 



Another significant confusion occurred in the 

 names of two well-known species in the genus 

 Rhododendron, one an elepidote rhododendron 

 and the other a deciduous azalea. In 1826, 

 Blume applied the name Hymenanthes japonica 

 to the elepidote rhododendron. In 1835, Siebold 

 and Zuccarini transferred the name Hymenanthes 

 to Rhododendron as a generic synonym and 

 named the species in question Rhododendron 

 mettemichii Sieb. & Zucc; however, by citing the 

 earlier name H. japonica Blume as a synonym 

 they rendered R. mettemichii illegitimate. In 

 1909, Camillo Schneider transferred the earlier 



name Hymenanthes japonica Blume to Rhodo- 

 dendron japonicum (Blume) Schneider. This was, 

 in fact, the correct name until very recently the 

 Committee for Spermatophyta of the Interna- 

 tional Botanical Congress determined that the 

 specific epithet japonicum correctly applies to the 

 deciduous azalea. The name R. degronianum 

 ssp. heptamerum (Maxim.) Hara is now the 

 correct name for the elepidote rhododendron long 

 known as R. mettemichii. The illegitimate name 

 R. mettemichii Sieb. &Zucc, however, continues 

 to be used widely in horticultural circles. 



The deciduous azalea involved in this confusion 

 of names was described by Asa Gray as Azalea 

 japonica. in the Luteum subseries from Japan. 

 In 1908, Suringar transferred the specific epithet 

 to Rhododendron as R. japonicum (A.Gr.) Suring. 

 Suringar's publication of this combination was, 

 however, interpreted by the author of a revision 

 of the genus as provisional, making the name 

 illegitimate as applied to the azalea and requiring 

 its use for the elepidote rhododendron. Because 

 the resulting name changes would have undesir- 

 able consequences, a formal proposal was made 

 to reject R. japonicum (Blume) Schneider. After 

 detailed re-examination of Suringar's work, the 

 Committee for Spermatophyta concluded that the 

 Suringar combination (using japonicum for the 

 azalea) was indeed validly published. The name 

 R. japonicum (Blume) Schneider for the elepidote 

 rhododendron is therefore illegitimate as a later 

 homonym and the proposal to reject became 

 moot. 



As noted, a later homonym may be conserved by 

 formal action under the Botanical Code. For 

 example, the genus name, Torreya Arn. (1838) of 

 the yew family (Taxaceae) is conserved, and the 

 earlier homonym Torreya of Rafinesque (1818) 

 applied to a plant in the mint family (Lamiaceae) 

 is rejected. 



Synonyms 



Many plants have been repeatedly redescribed by 

 different botanists, thus creating a long, compli- 

 cated synonymy that is often difficult to recon- 

 cile. The synonyms of Magnolia denudata Desr. 

 (1791), for example, include M. conspicua Salisb. 

 (1806), M. precia Correa ex Vent. (1803), and M. 

 yulan Desf. (1809). The name Negundo 

 fraxinifolium de Vos (1887) is a synonym and 

 invalid, because its nomenclatural type is the 

 same as that of Acer negundo L. ( 1 753) , boxelder, 

 a common North American tree that spans the 

 continent east to west and is cultivated world- 

 wide. 



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