Clarifications regarding Noël Necker’s names associated to <i>Chaptalia</i> (Asteraceae: Mutisieae)

Abstract

The generic name <i>Chaptalia</i> was founded by Ventenant in 1802. In 1891 Kuntze transferred 19 species from <i>Chaptalia</i> to <i>Thyrsanthema</i>, a name established by Necker in 1790, on the basis that <i>Thyrsanthema</i> had priority over the name <i>Chaptalia</i>. The monomial system of nomenclature used by Necker in his <i>Elementa Botanica</i> published in 1790, together with a confusing typification on the basis of Linnean species, led to different interpretations of Necker’s changes by botanists. In 1905 the Vienna Code considered <i>Chaptalia</i> as a <i>nomen conservandum</i> and <i>Thyrsanthema</i> as a <i>nomen rejiciendum</i>. In 1959, the Montreal Code established that the ‘species naturales’ of Necker are not to be treated as generic names. As a consequence, the name <i>Chaptalia</i> was considered a case of superfluous conservation, because Kuntze did not validate <i>Thyrsanthema</i> until 1891. Edward Greene in 1906 added another point of controversy establishing that the names <i>Chaptalia</i> and <i>Thyrsanthema</i> referred to totally different taxa. The nomenclatural history of <i>Chaptalia</i> and allied names described by Necker (<i>Atasites</i>, <i>Petasites</i>, <i>Thyrsanthema</i> and <i>Tussilago</i>) is reviewed, and the current status of these names is presented.