Centaurea laciniata DC., Prodr.

Centaurea laciniata Guss. ex DC., Prodr. 6: 582. 1838. [early January 1838] tp: taxon-name-part taxon-name-part-type = " infraspecific-rank " /> ≡ Centaurea ambigua subsp. laciniata (Guss. ex DC.) Arcang., Comp. Fl. Ital.: 392. 1882. ≡ Centaurea dissecta var. ambigua f. laciniata (Guss. ex DC.) Fiori in Fiori & Bég., Fl. Italia 3 (2): 336. 1904. [April 1904] Protologue citation. “ In asperis regni Neapolitani ad Aprutium. Cent. ambigua Ten. itin. ex Guss. ”. Lectotype (designated here). [Italy, Abruzzo] Napoli / Abruzzo, 1831, Gussone s. n. (G barcode G 00487426; the image of the lectotype is available at https://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/chg/adetail.php?id=339609&lang=en). Nomenclatural note. de Candolle described Centaurea laciniata (1838) providing a description and a generic locality. In G-DC (barcode G 00487426) we traced one specimen under the name “ C. laciniata Nob. ined. ” This is a specimen sent to de Candolle by Gussone under the name “ C. laciniata Guss. ined. ”. This sample was collected in Abruzzo (without indication of a specific locality) and on the label de Candolle reports “ De hoc loquitur Tenore in itinere a Monte Corno sub Cent. ambigua nomine [Tenore speaks of this on his journey from Monte Corno under the name Cent. ambigua] ”, information that does not help to identify the collection locality. The herbarium specimen is complete, well preserved, agrees with the protologue, and can be considered as original material (Art. 9.4 of the ICN). Although it might potentially be a holotype, at the same time there is a possibility of further original material in other herbaria. Accordingly, the specimen G 00487426 is prudentially selected here as lectotype for the name C. laciniata. Taxonomic note. The name Centaurea laciniata, currently accepted as C. ambigua subsp. laciniata, applies to plants narrowly endemic to Abruzzo, central Italy (Bartolucci et al. 2024; POWO 2024 +). This subspecies is traditionally distinguished only by its undivided lower leaves and pinnatifid upper leaves (Arcangeli 1882; Fiori 1904). These characters are inconsistent and without taxonomic value, also occuring in C. ambigua s. str. Thus, C. laciniata should be considered as a heterotypic synonym of C. ambigua subsp. ambigua.