Veronica prasifolia Desf.

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 : 53

Veronica prasifolia Desf.

Catalogus plantarum horti regii Parisiensis, ed. 3: 82 ( Desfontaines 1829), nom. inval. (Art. 36.1c; publ. in synonymy).

TYPE CITATION. — Cultivated: “Jardin des plantes Paris”.

LECTOTYPE (designated here). — FI( FI086072* ; Fig. 1 ).

Nomenclatural note. The name V. prasifolia was published in the same publication as a synonym of V. arguta Schrad. but is worth mentioning here since there is some taxonomic confusion around this name. On the label of the specimen in the herbarium Desfontaines in FI (FI086072), the name is attributed to Sprengel, but the name was not found in the works of Sprengel. The specimen is stated to resemble V. arguta , which is considered to be a hybrid of V. longifolia with V. spicata ( Härle 1932) , characterized by shallowly serrate to crenate leaf margins but with V. longifolia habit. Thus, the name should be synonymized with V. × media Schrad. Specimens of V. prasifolia from the Botanical Garden in Paris can also be found in P and in other herbaria (e.g., K, KW, MPU, the latter two collected after publication) but the herbarium specimens markedly differ from the specimen in FI. These plants belong to V. teucrium based on axillary inflorescences and leaf shape. On the specimen in P (herbarium Spach) from 1827, before the publication in Desfontaines (1829), the name V. latifolia , a synonym of V. teucrium , has been added later, indicating that the different identity has been observed before.

Figures

FIG. 1. — Lectotype of Veronica prasifolia Desf. (FI086072).