(1479) Proposal to conserve the name Bouteloua gracilis (Kunth) Griffiths against B. gracilis Vasey ( Poaceae )

The North American plains grass, blue grama, has for a long time been treated as a member of the genus Bouteloua Lag. as B. gracilis (A. Gray, Man. Bot., ed. 2, 553. 1856; Griffiths, Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 14: 375. 1912; Hitchcock., Man. Grasses U.S., ed. 2, 828. 1951; Bor, Grasses Burma, Ceylon, India & Pakistan 464. 1960; Correll & Johnston, Man. Vasc. P1. Texas 245. 1970; Gould, Grasses Texas 351. 1975; Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 66: 392. 1980 ("1979"); Holmgren & Holmgren in A. Cronquist & al. (eds.), Intermount. Fl. 6: 443. 1977; Soil Conservation Service, Natl. List Sci. P1. Names 1: 35. 1982; McVaugh, Fl. NovoGaliciana 14: 88. 1983; Sutherland in Great Plains Flora Association (ed.)., Fl. Gr. Plains 1141. 1986; Kartesz & Gandhi, Phytologia 69(4): 302. 1990; Hatch & al., Checkl. Vasc. PI. Texas 23. 1990; Watson & Dallwitz, Grass Gen. World 167. 1992; Columbus in J. C. Hickman (ed.), Jepson Man. 1239. 1993; Amow in Welsh & al. (eds.), Utah Fl., ed. 2, 796. 1993; Kartesz, Synonym. Checkl. Vasc. Fl. U.S., Canad. & Greenl., ed. 2, 1: 427. 1994). A few modem authors, however, recognise it in the segregate genus Chondrosum Desv. as C. gracile Kunth (e.g., Clayton & Renvoize, Kew Bull., Addit. Ser. 13: 246. 1986). Until recently, the authorship of the combination Bouteloua gracilis has generally, but incorrectly, been cited as "(Kunth) Lag. ex Steud. 1840" (Gould l.c., 1975; Holmgren & Holmgren, l.c.), but the combination was not made validly until Griffiths (l.c.) did so inadvertently in 1912. Although Gould (l.c., 1980) corrected the situation by attributing the combination to Griffiths, a few later works maintained Steudel as the author (e.g., McVaugh, l.c.; Arow, l.c.). (For details see synonymy below).