Veronica divaricata Boiss. & Balansa

Albach, Dirk C., 2025, From just a few to the most type-rich herbarium for Veronica L. (Plantaginaceae) - The effect of digitization of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle herbarium in Paris, Adansonia (3) 47 (7), pp. 47-130 : 65-66

Veronica divaricata Boiss. & Balansa in Boiss.

Diagnoses Plantarum Orientalum Novarum, ser. 2, 3: 173 ( Boissier 1856), nom. illeg. (Art. 53.1; non V. divaricata Tausch ).

TYPE CITATION. — Turkey, Mersin: “Hab. circa pagum Ala Dagh sex leucis ad septentrionem portus Mersina in Cilicia sito cl. Balansa. Floret Maio”.

LECTOTYPE (designated here). — “B. Balansa, Pl. d’Orient, 1855. 688. Veronica divaricata , sp. nov. (Boiss.) Village d’Alla-Dagh, à 7 lieues au NNO. de Mersina (Cilicie). 16. Mai”, G[ G00343615* ].

ISOLECTOTYPES (designated here). — BP[ BP348578! ], FI[ FI009713* ], G[ G00343614! , G00343617! ], GH[ GH00091939! ], GOET[ GOET011120 !], JE[ JE00000133!* ], K[ K001070256* ], KW!, MPU!, P[ P03529343* , P03529344* , P03529345* ], US[ US00324050 ], W!, WAG[ WAG0004900 *].

Nomenclatural note. Boissier and Balansa ( Boissier 1856) were the first to recognize the distinctiveness of these plants but chose an illegitimate name, V. divaricata , a fact later corrected by Stroh (1942) who chose to recognize Balansa in the name of this species. Veronica balansae (Stroh) belongs to V. sect. Acinifolia and to the large-flowered group but differs from V. syriaca and others in capsules broader than 5 mm and with divergent lobes.