Lythrum nieuwlandii (Lythraceae), a new name for L. cordifolium, nom. illeg., a rare species endemic to Florida, U.S.A.

Abstract

Five species of Lythrum have been considered native to Florida, USA, i.e., L. alatum, L. curtissii, L. flagellare, L. lanceolatum, and L. lineare. Lythrum alatum has been treated as an odd disjunct in Citrus Co., Florida, a species otherwise native to northern Alabama and northern Georgia and northward. We conducted fieldwork to study these alleged populations of L. alatum in Florida. What had been referred to as L. alatum is quite clearly a distinct species so far known from only three counties (Alachua, Citrus, and Hernando) in Florida. This species was first described as L. cordifolium Nieuwl., an illegitimate later homonym. The replacement name L. nieuwlandii is here published for this species endemic to the three counties in Florida. Lythrum alatum does not occur in Florida.