''Nomen illegitimum'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for illegitimate name) is a technical term used mainly in

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. It is usually abbreviated as ''nom. illeg.'' Although the

International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN or ICNafp) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all tho ...

uses Latin terms as qualifiers for taxon names (e.g. ''nomen conservandum'' for "

conserved name A conserved name or ''nomen conservandum'' (plural ''nomina conservanda'', abbreviated as ''nom. cons.'') is a scientific name that has specific nomenclatural protection. That is, the name is retained, even though it violates one or more rules wh ...

", and ''nomen superfluum'' for "superfluous name"), the definition of each term is in English rather than Latin. The Latin abbreviations are widely used by botanists and mycologists.

Definition

A ''nomen illegitimum'' is a validly published name, but one that contravenes some of the articles laid down by the

International Botanical Congress International Botanical Congress (IBC) is an international meeting of Botany, botanists in all scientific fields, authorized by the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS) and held every six years, with the locatio ...

.Melbourne Code
(2012) The name could be illegitimate because: * (article 52) it was superfluous at its time of publication, i.e., the taxon (as represented by the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

) already has a name, or * (articles 53 and 54) the name has already been applied to another plant (a

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciat ...

). For the procedure of rejecting otherwise legitimate names, see

. The qualification above concerning the taxon and the type is important. A name can be superfluous but not illegitimate if it would be legitimate for a different

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: * Circumscribed circle * Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) * Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthr ...

. For example, the family name

Salicaceae The Salicaceae are the willow family of flowering plants. The traditional family (Salicaceae ''sensu stricto'') includes the willows, poplars. Genetic studies summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) have greatly expanded the circumsc ...

, based on the "type genus" ''

Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

'', was published by Charles-François Brisseau de Mirbel in 1815. So when in 1818 Lorenz Chrysanth von Vest published the name Carpinaceae (based on the genus ''

Carpinus Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives from the hard ...

'') for a family explicitly including the genus ''Salix'', it was superfluous: "Salicaceae" was already the correct name for Vest's circumscription; "Carpinaceae" is superfluous for a family containing ''Salix''. However, the name is not illegitimate, since ''Carpinus'' is a legitimate name. If ''Carpinus'' were in future placed in a family where no genus had been used as the basis for a family name earlier than Vest's name (e.g. if it were placed in a family of its own) then Carpinaceae would be its legitimate name. (See Article 52.3, Ex. 18.) A similar situation can arise when species are synonymized and transferred between genera.

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

described what he regarded as two distinct species of grass: ''Andropogon fasciculatus'' in 1753 and ''Agrostis radiata'' in 1759. If these two are treated as the same species, the oldest specific epithet, ''fasciculatus'', has priority. So when Swartz in 1788 combined the two as one species in the genus '' Chloris'', the name he used, ''Chloris radiata'', was superfluous, since the correct name already existed, namely '' Chloris fasciculata''. ''Chloris radiata'' is an incorrect name for a species in the genus ''Chloris'' with the same type as Linnaeus's ''Andropogon fasciculatus''. However, if they are treated as separate species, and Linnaeus's ''Agrostis radiata'' is transferred to ''Chloris'', then '' Chloris radiata'' is its legitimate name. (See Article 52.3, Ex. 15.)

Examples

* "The generic name ''Cainito'' Adans. (1763) is illegitimate because it was a superfluous name for '' Chrysophyllum'' L. (1753), which Adanson cited as a synonym." * "The name ''Amblyanthera'' Müll. Arg. (1860) is a later homonym of the validly published '' Amblyanthera'' Blume (1849) and is therefore unavailable for use, although ''Amblyanthera'' Blume is now considered to be a synonym of ''

Osbeckia ''Osbeckia'' is a genus of plants in the family Melastomataceae. It was named by Carl Linnaeus for the Sweden, Swedish explorer and naturalist Pehr Osbeck (1723–1805). Distribution Osbeckias are native to Eastern Asia — China, Japan, Malay ...

'' L. (1753)." * "The name ''

Torreya ''Torreya'' is a genus of conifers comprising six or seven species placed in the family Taxaceae, though sometimes formerly placed in Cephalotaxaceae. Four species are native to eastern Asia; the other two are native to North America. They a ...

'' Arn. (1838) is a nomen conservandum and is therefore available for use in spite of the existence of the earlier homonym ''Torreya'' Raf. (1818)."

References

{{reflist, 28em, refs= {{cite web , title=International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Shenzhen Code) , url=https://www.iapt-taxon.org/nomen/pages/main/glossary.html , website=International Association for Plant Taxonomy , access-date=5 March 2024 Latin biological phrases Botanical nomenclature es:Anexo:Designaciones utilizadas en la nomenclatura de los grupos taxonómicos#nom. illeg.

Definition

Examples

See also

References