Polygala rosea var. occidentalis Willk.

Polygala rosea var. occidentalis Willk. in Willk. & Lange, Prodr. Fl. Hispan. 3 (3): 558. 1878 Type. France. “ collines a Draguignan (Var.) ”, 10–21 April 1861, E. S-C Cosson s. n. (lectotype, designated here: COI 00055847!). In the protologue (Willkomm and Lange 1878), five specimens are mentioned: one originally labelled as P. nicaeensis, one as P. corsica, one as P. gypsophiloides, one as P. vulgaris and one as P. saxatilis. According to Stafleu and Cowan (1988), the Herbarium Willkomm is conserved at COI. There, we traced four herbarium specimens (COI 00055844!, COI 00055841!, COI 00055846!, COI 00055847!) that are original material. The specimen selected as lectotype is constituted by one individual in excellent conservation condition, in which many diagnostic characteristics can be evaluated such as the plant habitus, the presence of bracteoles in very young flowers, the size of the wings and of corolla tubes. The lectotype matches the protologue. Based on the morphological features of the lectotype, P. rosea subsp. occidentalis is a heterotypic synonym of P. nicaeensis s. str. as circumscribed in this study, i. e. a taxon combining the morphological features and distribution of the former P. nicaeensis subsp. nicaeensis and P. nicaeensis subsp. mediterranea Chodat (see above).