Changes in Family, Genera,
and Species Names
The publication of Jepson II in 2012 brought numerous nomenclatural changes, largely
derived from molecular phylogenetic analyses and the goal of making all of our
taxa monophyletic. These studies have
necessitated either the splitting or the lumping of several families and
genera. Many of the generic nomenclature
changes (for example, Acmispon and Hosackia, segregated from Lotus of the Fabaceae) were actually
done some time in the past, and constitute resurrected taxa. The "old-timer" taxonomists were
often right!
A few taxonomic changes in our Checklist (e.g., the transfers of all Chamaesyce taxa to Euphorbia) reference recent revisions to the Jepson eFlora that were made subsequent to Jepson II. Others (e.g., the
splitting of Cryptantha into five
genera) arise from recent research articles not yet incorporated into the Jepson eFlora. Still others reflect treatments in FNA (1993+). Although we expect even more nomenclatural
changes in the future, plant names have begun to stabilize. However, these changes require all of us to
re-learn many scientific names, even some of common, well-known taxa. The following is a summary of the major
nomenclatural changes in our fifth edition, organized by group and family.
Leptosporangiate Ferns
Pteridaceae. All of our taxa of Cheilanthes have been transferred to the genus Myriopteris, as based on the
phylogenetic studies
of Grusz and Windham (2013).
Conifers
Cupressaceae. Our two Cupressus species are now treated in the genus Hesperocyparis.
Eudicots
Acanthaceae. Avicennia
has been transferred from the Verbenaceae to this family.
Aceraceae. We now treat the genus Acer as part of the Sapindaceae.
Amaranthaceae. This family is now split from the
Chenopodiaceae, as was traditionally done.
Anacardiaceae. We are recognizing Rhus aromatica var. simplicifolia
and var. aromatica, these not
recognized in Jepson II.
Apiaceae.
Two species of Spermolepis found in
San Diego County have been recently described (Nesom 2012).
Apocynaceae.
Taxa of the genera Cynanchum and Sarcostemma have been transferred to the
genus Funastrum.
Araliaceae.
The genus Hydrocotyle has been
transferred from the Apiaceae to the Araliaceae.
Asteraceae.
Chrysanthemum
carinatum has been changed to Ismelia carinata. Chrysanthemum coronarium and
C. segetum have been transferred to the genus Glebionis. All of our Chrysothamnus species have been transferred to the genus Ericameria.
We choose to recognize varieties of Corethrogyne filaginifolia despite the fact that they are no longer
recognized in Jepson II. Species of the genus Conyza have been transferred to the genera Erigeron or Laennecia. Our species of Coreopsis (except for C.
tinctoria) have been transferred to the genus Leptosyne. Dyssodia tenuiloba is now Thymophylla t. Our species of Filago have been transferred to the
genus Logfia. Our Machaeranthera
taxa have been transferred to the genera Dieteria or Xanthisma. Matricaria matricarioides is now M. discoidea. Picris
echioides is
now Helminthotheca echioides.
Boraginaceae. This family has been expanded significantly
and is now inclusive of the former families Boraginaceae s.s., Ehretiaceae,
Heliotropaceae, Hydrophyllaceae, and Lennoaceae. However, this lumping is controversial and
may be reversed in the future. The genus
Cryptantha has been split into five
genera: Cryptantha s.s., Eremocarya, Greeneocharis, Johnstonella, and
Oreocarya (see Hasenstab-Lehman and
Simpson 2012). Based on recent evidence
(Simpson et al., 2014), Eremocarya is
treated as two species (E. lepida and
E. micrantha), formerly treated as
varieties of Cryptantha micrantha. A possible new variety of Cryptantha pterocarya and cryptic forms
of Cryptantha intermedia await
description. A new species of Pectocarya, P. anisocarpa (not in Jepson II or yet in the Jepson eFlora) has been described
(Guilliams et al. 2013) and is included here.
Turricula parryi is now Eriodictyon parryi.
Brassicaceae. Arabis
glabra has been transferred to the genus Turritis. Guillenia lasiophylla is now Caulanthus lasiophyllus. Hutchinsia procumbens is
now Hornungia procumbens. Our species of Cardaria and Coronopus
have been transferred to the genus Lepidium. We choose to recognize Lepidium virginicum var. robinsonii, a taxon not accepted by Jepson II. Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum is now Nasturtium
officinale. Sibara virginica is
now Planodes virginicum.
Cannabaceae. This family in our County now includes both Cannabis and Celtis, the latter formerly classified in the Celtidaceae or
Ulmaceae.
Caryophyllaceae. The
native Silene multinervia has been
shown to be clearly distinct from the non-native S. coniflora (Rautenberg et al. 2012).
Chenopodiaceae. This family is now split from the
Amaranthaceae. Within the Chenopodiaceae, Atriplex
californica is now Extriplex californica
(Zacharias and Baldwin 2010), a change made
in the updated Jepson eFlora. Sarcocornia
pacifica is back to Salicornia
pacifica.
Cistaceae. Our taxa of Helianthemum have been transferred to the genus Crocanthemum (Sorrie 2011), a change
made in the updated Jepson eFlora.
Cleomaceae. Our taxa of the Capparaceae have been
transferred to this family. Within the
Cleomaceae our Isomeris taxa have
been transferred to the genus Peritoma. Cleome hassleriana is now Tarenaya hassleriana.
Euphorbiaceae. All taxa of Chamaesyce are now treated in the genus Euphorbia, a change to be recognized in the updated Jepson eFlora.
Fabaceae. Acacia
farnesiana is now Vachellia
farnesiana. Acacia greggii is now Senegalia greggii. Caesalpinia virgata is now Hoffmannseggia microphylla. Cercidium
floridum is now Parkinsonia
florida. The genus Lotus has been split into three genera: Acmispon, with gland-like stipules, Hosackia, with leaf-like stipules, and
non-native species of Lotus, with
gland-like stipules but often with the lower leaflets stipular in position.
Most of these generic transfers resulted in retention of specific and
infraspecific epithets, but the few that did not are worth mentioning here
(authors of some indicated to avoid confusion).
The former Lotus hamatus is
now Acmispon micranthus (Torr. & A. Gray) Brouillet; Lotus humistratus is now Acmispon
brachycarpus; Lotus micranthus Benth. is now Acmispon
parviflorus [not to be confused with A. micranthus (Torr.
& A. Gray) Brouillet, above!]; Lotus
nuttallianus is now Acmispon
prostratus; Lotus purshianus var. p. is now Acmispon americanus var. a.; Lotus salsuginosus var. brevivexillus and var. salsuginosus are now Acmispon maritimus var. brevivexillus and var. maritimus; and Lotus scoparius var. brevialatus
and var. scoparius are now Acmispon glaber vars. brevialatus and glaber.
Gentianaceae.
Swertia parryi has been
transferred to the resurrected genus Frasera,
and two of our species of Centaurium to
the genus Zeltnera.
Gratiolaceae. Bacopa
monnieri of our flora has been transferred from the Plantaginaceae to this
family (Rahmanzadeh et al. 2005). This change was recognized by neither APG III nor Jepson II, nor to date by Jepson
eFlora.
Krameriaceae.
The well known desert species, Krameria
grayi is now Krameria bicolor.
Lamiaceae. Hyptis
emoryi is now Condea emoryi (Pastore
et al. 2011), a change recognized in the updated Jepson eFlora. Salazaria mexicana is now Scutellaria mexicana. Satureja chandleri is now Clinopodium chandleri.
Linderniaceae. Lindernia
dubia of our flora has been transferred from the Plantaginaceae to this
family (Rahmanzadeh et al. 2005). This change was recognized by neither APG III nor Jepson II, nor to date by Jepson
eFlora.
Malvaceae. Species of Lavatera have been transferred to the genus Malva.
Montiaceae. This family, now segregated from the
Portulacaceae, includes the genera Calandrinia,
Calyptridium, Cistanthe, Claytonia, Lewisia,
and Montia. Calandrinia
ambigua and Calandrinia maritima
are now recognized as species of Cistanthe. Calindrinia
ciliata is now recognized as C.
menziesii, the former misapplied to our County plants (this change not yet
recognized in Jepson II or the Jepson eFlora; see Hershkovitz
2006). Calyptridium arizonicum is segregated from C. parryi vars. (not recognized in Jepson II or the Jepson
eFlora; see Simpson et al. 2010).
Myrsinaceae. The genus Anagallis has been transferred from the Primulaceae to this closely
related family, and Centunculus minimus is
now Anagallis minima.
Onagraceae. The genus Camissonia
has been split into six genera (with retention of specific and
infraspecific epithets): Camissonia,
Camissoniopsis, Chylismia, Eremothera, Eulobus (containing only E.
californicus in our County), and Tetrapteron.
The former taxon Epilobium angustifolium
subsp. circumvagum is now Chamerion a. subsp. circumvagum. Finally, all
the species of Gaura have been
transferred to the genus Oenothera.
Orobanchaceae. Boschniakia strobilacea
is now Kopsiopsis strobilacea. Cordylanthus
maritimus subsp. maritimus is now
Chloropyron maritimum subsp. maritimum. Cordylanthus orcuttianus is now Dicranostegia
orcuttiana.
Papaveraceae. Dicentra
chrysantha is now Ehrendorferia
chrysantha, and Stylomecon
heterophylla is now Papaver heterophyllum.
Phrymaceae. Mimulus has
been split into several segregate genera, based on molecular phylogenetic
studies (Barker et al. 2012), a change not in Jepson II and not yet updated in the Jepson eFlora. In our County, all Mimulus species have been transferred to the genera Diplacus, Erythranthe, or the monotypic Mimetanthe.
Plantaginaceae. The genus Bacopa has been transferred to the family Gratiolaceae (Rahmanzadeh et al. 2005). Limosella
acaulis has been transferred to the family Scrophulariaceae. Linaria
canadensis is now Nuttallanthus
texanus. Lindernia has been transferred to the family Linderniaceae (Rahmanzadeh et al. 2005). (Note that
some treatments, e.g., FNA eFlora,
split our species of the genus Antirrhinum
into two genera, Sairocarpus and Neogaerrhinum;
we list these as synonyms in the Checklist
for now.)
Polygalaceae. Polygala
cornuta var. fishiae is now Rhinotropis cornuta var. fishiae (Abbott 2011), a change not in
Jepson II and not yet updated in the Jepson eFlora.
Polygonaceae.
Polygonum convolvulus
is now Fallopia convolvulus. Several species formerly in the genus Polygonum are transferred to Persicaria. Polygonum arenastrum is now P.
aviculare subsp. depressum. Polygonum douglasii subsp. johnstonii is now P. sawatchense subsp. sawatchense.
Rumex salicifolius var. denticulatus is now R. californicus.
Portulacaceae. This family now contains only species of
the genus Portulaca in our flora.
Primulaceae. Dodecatheon
taxa have been transferred to the genus Primula,
a change not in Jepson II but
recognized in the updated Jepson eFlora. Thus, in our County Dodecatheon clevelandii subsp. clevelandii
is now Primula clevelandii subsp. clevelandii.
As mentioned earlier, Centunculus
taxa are now treated in the genus Anagallis,
and the latter genus is now transferred to the family Myrsinaceae. The
genus Samolus is transferred to the
family Theophrastaceae.
Rhamnaceae. The common Ceanothus greggii var. perplexans
is now C. perplexans. Ceanothus greggii var. vestitus is now C. pauciflorus [C. vestitus in
Jepson II]; see Burge and Zhukovsky 2013. A presumed
new, undescribed species of Ceanothus occurs
in the Santa Margarita Mountains, of northwestern San Diego Co. What was called Ceanothus foliosus in our County has been resurrected to C. austro-montanus.
Rosaceae. The two varieties of Potentilla glandulosa have been transferred to Drymocallis glandulosa. Sanguisorba occidentalis has been changed
to Poteridium annum and Sanguisorba minor subsp. muricata is now Poterium sanguisorba.
Salicaceae. Populus balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa is now Populus
trichocarpa. Salix lucida
subsp. lasiandra is now Salix
lasiandra.
Sapindaceae.
Acer
has been transferred to this family.
Saxifragaceae.
Saxifraga californica is now
treated as Micranthes californica.
Scrophulariaceae. Limosella acaulis has been transferred
from the Plantaginaceae to this family.
We have added a number of Myoporum
taxa not listed in Jepson II or
the Jepson eFlora but that we feel
are naturalized in San Diego County.
Solanaceae. A new,
undescribed species of Physalis has
been discovered in San Diego County. Our two,
non-native species of Lycopersicon have
been transferred to the genus Solanum
(Peralta and Spooner 2000), a change
not listed in Jepson II nor yet in
the Jepson eFlora.
Theophrastaceae. Samolus
is now transferred from the Primulaceae to this closely related family.
Viscaceae.
Phoradendron serotinum and
subspecies have been transferred to Phoradendron
leucarpum, a change to be noted in the Jepson
eFlora.
Monocots
We have placed the monocots at the end of
our Checklist to parallel Jepson II. Within the monocots, the
following major nomenclatural changes are noted:
Agavaceae.
This family now includes our two species of Chlorogalum (previously classified in the Hyacinthaceae).
Convallariaceae. This family is no longer recognized in APG III and is not recognized in Jepson II.
In the latter and in our Checklist,
the genus Maianthemum is now
transferred to the Ruscaceae.
Hyacinthaceae. This family is no longer recognized in APG III and is not recognized in Jepson II.
In the latter and in our Checklist,
the genus Chlorogalum is now
transferred to the Agavaceae.
Juncaginaceae. Lilaea
scilloides has been transferred to the genus Triglochin.
Melanthiaceae.
Species of Zigadenus have been
transferred to the genus Toxicoscordion.
Nolinaceae. Nolina
species are now treated in the family Ruscaceae.
Poaceae.
As in Jepson II, the species of Achnatherum, Nassella, Oryzopsis, and Piptatherum have been transferred back
to the genus Stipa, although an
upcoming phylogenetic treatment may split this genus even more. We are elevating the two subspecies of Bromus madritensis to species status,
based on research by Fortune et al. (2008). Elymus
hispidus and E. ponticus have
been transferred to the genus Thinopyrum
(as T. intermedium and T. ponticum; see FNA 1993+). Festuca now includes species of the genera Lolium and Vulpia. Monanthochloe littoralis has been transferred to the genus Distichlis.
Our two infraspecies of Leptochloa
have been transferred to the genus Diplachne
(Peterson et al. 2012). Species
of the genera Leymus and Taeniatherum have been transferred to the genus Elymus. Our three species of Pennisetum
have been transferred to Cenchrus (Chemisquy
et al. 2010).
Potamogetonaceae. Ruppia
maritima has been transferred to Ruppiaceae.
Ruppiaceae. This family, containing only Ruppia maritima in our County, is now
recognized, segregated from the Potamogetonaceae.
Ruscaceae. This family is now treated with a broadened
circumscription, containing Mainthemum and
Nolina in San Diego County and in
California.