(3036) Proposal to Conserve the Name Chamaemelum Mill. Against Chamaemelum Daubenton (Asteraceae)

(3036) Chamaemelum Mill., Gard. Dict. Abr., ed. 4: [315]. 28 Jan 1754 [Comp.], nom. cons. prop. Typus: C. nobile (L.) All., Fl. Pedem. 1: 185. Apr–Jul 1785. (Anthemis nobilis L.). (H) Chamaemelum Daubenton in Diderot & D'Alembert, Encyclopédie 3: 42. Oct–Nov 1753 [Angiosp.: Comp.], nom. rej. prop. Typus (vide Martinez & Pastore in Taxon, https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.13180: 6 of 12. 2024): Matricaria chamomilla L. A recent study by Martinez & Pastore (in Taxon, https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.13180. 2024) focused on overlooked names published in October–November, 1753 in the third volume of the Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers by Diderot and d'Alembert. These names primarily originate from Tournefort's pre-Linnaean work, as well as from works by P. Micheli and Plumier. The protologues of these names sometimes included textual copies of the original descriptions of these earlier authors. As noted in Proposal 3035 on Molopospermum, acceptance of only two names in this volume would appear to cause disadvantageous nomenclatural change. The second of these names is Chamaemelum Daubenton due to its priority over the well-established name Chamaemelum Mill. These homonyms are based on different species and apply to different genera. Daubenton's use of Chamaemelum was derived from P. Micheli's Nova plantarum genera (Micheli, Nov. Pl. Gen.: 34. 1729). The Chamaemelum entry in Micheli (l.c.) cited Bauhin's "Chamaemelum vulgare, Leucanthemum Diosc." (Bauhin, Pinax: 135. 1623) among others (see Martinez & Pastore, l.c.: 6 of 12) that was the basis for Linnaeus (Sp. Pl.: 891. 1753) to describe Matricaria chamomilla L. Therefore, the type of Chamaemelum Daubenton, designated by Martinez & Pastore (l.c.: 6 of 12), is M. chamomilla L. (chamomile, German chamomile). On the other hand, Chamaemelum Mill., currently an accepted name, was originally described including 12 species entries, most of them presently classified within the genus Anthemis L., but also including species now in the genera Chamaemelum Mill., Matricaria L., Cotula L., and Tanacetum L. Chamaemelum was typified by Tzvelev (in Komarov, Fl. URSS 26: 67. 1961 [after 31 Oct]) by Chamaemelum nobile (L.) All. (Anthemis nobilis L.). Chamaemelum Mill. currently comprises two species, C. fuscatum (Brot.) Vasc., an annual native to the Mediterranean region and introduced in California, and the generitype, C. nobile (L.) All., which is commonly known as the Roman chamomile. The latter species has medicinal importance due to its rich composition of flavonoids, terpenoids, and coumarins, which are responsible for its medicinal properties, its use as an infusion (tea) or for essential oils being well-known. Seeds and plants of C. nobile are commercially available in retail outlets and on internet sites as medicinal herbs, making it a popular choice for home gardens. A Google search yielded approximately 17,500 indexed entries related to "Chamaemelum nobilis", showcasing various images of the plant. Additionally, there are several phytochemical studies based on constituents derived from C. nobile (e.g., Zhao & al. in J. Nat. Prod. (Lloydia) 77: 509–515. 2014; Tai & al. in Genomics 112: 1055–1064. 2020; Baranauskiené & al. in Food Res. Int. 160: 111715. 2022). Therefore, the proposal is presented here to conserve Chamaemelum Mill. against Chamaemelum Daubenton, and preserve the current usage of the name Chamaemelum. If Chamaemelum Mill. (l.c.) is not conserved against Chamaemelum Daubenton, Chamaemelum Mill., as an illegitimate later homonym of Chamaemelum Daubenton (l.c.), could not be used. There is a synonym of Chamaemelum Mill., Marcelia Cass. (in Cuvier, Dict. Sci. Nat. 34: 107. Apr 1825), which was originally described to include Marcelia aurea (L.) Cass. (basionym: Anacyclus aureus L.), a heterotypic synonym of Chamaemelum nobile. There is no evidence that this name has ever been used as an accepted name since it was published in 1825. Therefore, to displace Chamaemelum Mill., and have to provide two new combinations in Marcelia would clearly be disruptive and undesirable. JFBP gratefully acknowledges CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) for funding research fellowship (304082/2023-6). AM gratefully acknowledges support by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, Argentina).