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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Washington, D.C. » National Arboretum » Floral and Nursery Plants Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #167495
Title: PROPOSAL TO REJECT THE NAME QUERCUS PRINUS (FAGACEAE)

Author
item Whittemore, Alan
item NIXON, KEVIN - CORNELL UNIV

Submitted to: Taxon
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/24/2005
Publication Date: 4/19/2005
Citation: Whittemore, A.T., Nixon, K.C. 2005. Proposal to reject the name Quercus prinus L. (Fagaceae). Taxon. 54(1):213-214.

Interpretive Summary: The name Quercus prinus has been used for two different species in the past. Accurate communication of scientific work and other information about these plants requires a stable, well documented nomenclature, and the long-standing confusion of names in the literature has caused confusion in communicating information about these species. Past and present usage of the name, and the specimens and illustrations that it was originally based on, are examined and documented. The best solution is to formally reject the name Q. prinus, and it is here proposed that this be done by the International Association for Plant Taxonomy, the international authority for plant nomenclature. This will allow the two species to be known as Q. michauxii and Q. montana, names that are well established and unambiguous, ensuring clear and accurate dissemination of information about these plants.

Technical Abstract: The name Quercus prinus has been applied to two different species in the past. This is a serious barrier to accurate communication of scientific work and other information about these plants. In view of the tangled usage of the name over the past century or more, and the fact that all original material lacks key organs of the plant and may be controversial, the best solution is to formally reject the name Q. prinus, and it is here proposed that this be done by the International Association for Plant Taxonomy, the international authority for plant nomenclature. The two species will then be known as Q. michauxii and Q. montana, names that are well established and unambiguous, ensuring clear and accurate dissemination of information about these plants.