(3035) Proposal to conserve the name Molopospermum against Cicutaria (Apiaceae)

(3035) Molopospermum W.D.J. Koch in Nova Acta Phys.-Med. Acad. Caes. Leop.-Carol. Nat. Cur. 12: 108. 1824 (ante 28 Oct) Umbell., nom. cons. prop. Typus: M. peloponnesiacum (L.) W.D.J. Koch (Ligusticum peloponnesiacum L.). (≡) Cicutaria Daubenton in Diderot Miller (Gard. Dict., ed. 2. 1737) had also adopted Cicutaria, but later (e.g., Miller, Gard. Dict. Abr., ed. 4. 1754) included it in Ligusticum. The current 1753 starting date was only established in the Vienna Rules (Briquet, Règles Int. Nomencl. Bot. 1906)]. The same generic name was published – but with different applications – as Cicutaria Heist. ex Fabr. (Enum.: 40. 1759) (≡ Conium L.) and as Cicutaria Moench (Meth. Suppl.: 32. 1802), nom. illeg., applying to elements of Molopospermum and Trinia, and in a more widespread usage by Lamarck (Fl. Franç. 3: 445. 1779) for what is now established as Cicuta L. A recent study by Martinez those not adopted by Linnaeus (Sp. Pl. 1753) were mostly published by Miller (Gard. Dict. Abr., ed. 4. 1754). Hence, it is unlikely that the names in subsequent volumes of the Encyclopédie will result in substantial nomenclatural changes that might warrant suppression of the work under Art. 34. Moreover, reviewing the names in volume 3 of the Encyclopédie (Diderot the first was treated by Linnaeus (l.c. 1753: 250) as a synonym of his Ligusticum peloponnesiacum L., but the second was not treated by him, and we cannot assign it to any modern taxonomic concept. Consequently, Molopospermum peloponnesiacum (L.) W.D.J. Koch was selected as the generitype of Cicutaria Daubenton by Martinez Andreu & al. in Med. Aromat. Pl. 4: 211. 2015). On the other hand, the necessary replacement name for M. peloponnesiacum, Cicutaria peloponnesiaca (L.) Kuntze, though available, has appearently never been used. A Google search on "Cicutaria peloponnesiaca" yielded only about 50 results, almost all as a synonym of Molopospermum peloponnesiacum. Furthermore, the diverse historical application of Cicutaria to different genera, contrasts with the stable Molopospermum, which has been applied solely to the one species, M. peloponnesiacum. Therefore, the proposal is presented here to preserve the use of Molopospermum by conserving it against the name Cicutaria, since making the name change required by priority to Cicutaria peloponnesiaca (L.) Kuntze (cf. Art. 55.4) would clearly be disruptive and undesirable. JFBP gratefully acknowledges CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) for funding research fellowship (304082/2023-6). AM gratefully acknowledges support by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, Argentina).