Proposal to conserve the name Orobanche foetida (Orobanchaceae)

Abstract

In this Proposal we formally propose to conserve O. foetida with Bourgeau’s gathering of 16 April 1856 as conserved type. Our choice rests on the following reasons: (1) it clearly represents the current usage of the name O. foetida; (2) it is based upon material from northern Algeria not far from the Algerian-Tunisian border where the ranges of the two species overlap and in a region broadly coincident with the original terra classica of Poiret’s name; (3) the proposed conserved type is readily accessible online in a remarkably detailed digitization; (4) the sheet contains a sample of the host plant, which proves to be a non-shrubby Fabaceae (presumably Medicago laciniata (L.) Mill.) and these are typically parasitized by the western species to which we propose to apply the name O. foetida.