Correctable or not? The case of plant epithets derived from the Elbrus/Elburs Mountains in Iran, with further notes on taxonomic grey literature

Abstract Plant name epithets (as well as names of other organisms governed by the ICN ), which are derived from geographic names, are not correctable when their original spelling was intentional and based on contemporary linguistic realities, even if it is currently considered outdated. The resulting orthographical variants may widely deviate from the present‐day accepted spelling of the relevant geographic names, especially when non‐Latin script languages were romanised. Pierre Edmond Boissier coined 12 species names with the epithets “elbrusensis” and “elbrusense” given to plant species from Iran, although the present‐day standard spelling of the area of their geographic origin is the Alborz Mountains in English, also spelled variably as “Elburs” or “Elburz”. Their nineteenth century German spelling “Elbrus” is linguistically correct despite some perceived confusion with Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus. The long‐standing spelling correction of the name Salix ebrusensis to S . elbursensis is therefore rejected, and the commonly accepted change in the original spelling “Rumex elbursensis” to R. elbrusensis is confirmed. Considering the nomenclatural effect of the publication of Kotschy's herbarium set from northern Iran, commercially distributed by Hohenacker, we contribute to the further divulgation of taxonomic grey literature.