The nomenclature of fossil Ephedraceae

A review of recently published fossil Ephedraceae reveals a number of nomenclatural problems. “ Liaoxia Cao & S.Q. Wu” and “ Liaoxia chenii Cao & S.Q. Wu” were not validly published by Cao & S.Q. Wu in 1998 when they first described the fossils concerned. However, Liaoxia Cao & S.Q. Wu was validly published by Rydin, Wu & Friis in 2006 and Liaoxia cheniae (as “ chenii ”) was also validly published by them, but as a new combination based on Ephedrites cheniae Guo & Wu (as “ chenii ”), validly published in 2000, and should be cited as Liaoxia cheniae (Guo & Wu) Cao & S.Q. Wu in Rydin & al. The epithet is corrected to cheniae because it commemorates a lady, Prof. Chen Shouliang. The continued use of Ephedrites Göpp. & Berendt is recommended because of its straightforward meaning and long history of usage, providing nomenclatural stability. Transfer to Ephedrites of names recently published in Liaoxia is deferred until a recommendation is made on the recent proposal to conserve Ephedrites with a new type.