Amaranthus crispus (Lesp. & Théveneau) A. Braun ex J. M. Coult. & S. Watson

Raus, Thomas, 2022, Taxonomic, nomenclatural and floristic review of Amaranthaceae of Greece and neighbouring countries, Willdenowia 52 (3), pp. 335-357 : 341

8. Amaranthus crispus (Lesp. & Théveneau) A. Braun ex J. M. Coult. & S. Watson in Gray, Manual, ed. 6: 428. Jan–Mar 1890 ≡ Euxolus crispus Lesp. & Théveneau in Bull. Soc. Bot. France 6: 656. 1859 ≡ Albersia crispa

( Lesp. & Théveneau) Asch. ex Hausskn. in Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 8: (121). 1890. – Lectotype (designated by Iamonico 2016a: 527): Europe , France, Lavoire a laine de Bessan, 12 Oct 1858, Théveneau ( P P00572004 , plant on the left).

= Amaranthus crispus N. Terracc. in Rendiconti Reale Accad. Sci. Fis., ser. 2, 4: 188. 1890 & in Atti Reale Accad. Sci. Fis., ser. 2, 4(2): 7. Jul 1890, nom. illeg. – Lectotype (designated by Iamonico 2016a: 521): Europe, Italy, Lazio, Frosinone, ad vias in submontosis Campaniae fontanaliri, Sep 1821, Terracciano (FI).

Remarks — Amaranthus crispus resembles A. blitoides with respect to the usually prostrate habit, axillary flower clusters and the number of perianth segments, (4 or)5, but differs on its undulate-crenate leaves and indehiscent, muricate fruits. Native to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay ( Pedersen 1999: 23; Bayón 2015: 321), this casual alien has been known to occur in the Vardar valley of North Macedonia since 1958 ( Micevski 1995: 404) and in the Strumitza valley of SW Bulgaria ( Assyov & al. 2012: 65). From both areas it can be expected to invade suitable habitats along the rivers Axios and Strymonas in N Greece ( Raus 1997: 144). The species holds the 61 st rank among the 150 most widespread alien plant species in Europe ( Lambdon & al. 2008) but has not settled in Greek localities so far. The nomenclatural authorship given by Aellen (1959: 491) with N. Terracciano as combining author of the name A. crispus is incorrect but widely used in subsequent basic floras and checklists covering Balkan countries ( Aellen 1964; Greuter & al. 1984; Akeroyd 1993; Micevski 1995; Strid & Tan 1997; Assyov & al. 2012). As already pointed out by Fiori (1896), Terracciano (1890a, 1890b) intended to describe a species endemic to Italy and at the same time new to science, not being aware of the nomenclaturally competing Euxolus crispus of 31 years earlier ( Lespinasse & Théveneau 1859). Therefore, A. crispus N. Terracc. was from the start both a later homonym and a heterotypic synonym of A. crispus (Lesp. & Théveneau) A. Braun ex J. M. Coult. & S. Watson (for details, see Iamonico 2016a: 521–522). There is much uncertainty in herbaria and printed sources regarding the authors of the basionym of the latter, with “ Euxolus crispus Lessing & Thévenau ” one example distributed by the research and teaching platform JSTOR (2022). However, the German botanist Christian Friedrich Lessing, grandson of the poet Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, was settled far away in Krasnojarsk (Siberia) when his French colleagues published the protologue of Euxolus crispus , and Lespinasse’s co-author is correctly spelled Théveneau.