The intricate nomenclatural questions around Plantago holosteum (Plantaginaceae)

A nomenclatural study on the names of the narrow-leaved plantains linked to Plantago holosteum is presented. The names P. carinata, P. gerardii, P. holosteum, P. maritima var. apennina, P. subulata sensu Wulfen, and P. wulfenii have been studied. The name P. holosteum is lectotypified on illustration by Bauhin & Cherler, P. wulfenii by Willdenow on a specimen preserved at B while P. maritima var. apennina was neotypified using a specimen deposited at RO. For P. holosteum, an accepted and widely used name both in the floristic and the vegetation literature of SE-Europe, an epitype is designated here. The name P. carinata was proposed by Mertens & Koch to replace P. subulata sensu Wulfen non L., but is illegitimate (ICN, Arts. 52.2, 53.1). Plantago gerardii Schult. is a later homonym of P. gerardii Pourr. (= P. argentea), and therefore also illegitimate (Art. 53.2). All the names investigated in this paper are placed in the synonymy of P. holosteum here (some of them only provisionally), except for Willdenow's P. wulfenii which is considered a heterotypic synonym of P. maritima.