Vascular Plants
Australian Plant Name Index (APNI)
The Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) is a tool for the botanical community that deals with plant names and their usage in the scientific literature, whether as a current name or synonym. APNI does not recommend any particular taxonomy or nomenclature. For a listing of currently accepted scientific names for the Australian vascular flora, please use the Australian Plant Census (APC) link above.
Etymology:"A new name has been chosen for this taxon because we consider the earliest epithet applied to it at species rank (psilotrichodes) to be confusingly similar to that of a species based on a different type, namely Ptilotus psilotrichoides F.Muell. (= P. capitatus (F.Muell.) C.A.Gardner). We believe that this change is in accordance with Art. 53.3 of the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi and Plants (McNeill et al. 2012). The only other applicable epithet, parviflorus (previously used at infraspecific ranks), is pre-occupied at species rank by P. parviflorus (Lindl.) F.Muell. (= P. obovatus (Gaudich.) F.Muell.). We, therefore, chose the name Ptilotus modestus (the epithet being Latin for modest) for this species, in reference to the flowers that are smaller, less colourful and less widely gaping than the more showy flowers of P. gaudichaudii."
