Image: Aureolaria virginica under the name Dasystoma flava (1913) Britton, N.L., and A. Brown.

Description: Botanical illustration of Dasystoma flava (1913). This was published prior to when Dasystoma flava was renamed Aureolaria virginica, and Dasystoma virginica was renamed Aureolaria flava by Francis Pennell, because he discovered that the fuzzy species originally named Rhinanthus virginicus in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus had been mistakenly confused by 19th century botanists with the smooth species originally named Gerardia flava in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus. Pennell explains how this occurred very clearly in "The Scrophulariaceae of Eastern Temperate North America" (1935). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA., which is also available as a Google eBook, although not yet in the public domain. Botanical naming conventions dictate that Pennell was correct in switching the species epithets back, and there have not been any more recent changes made to the names of these two species. Unfortunately, some resources, particularly those functioning as aggregators of large quantities of information, including materials which may be out of date, have perpetuated this confusion, such as this botanical illustration of Dasystoma flava being labeled as Aureolaria flava on the USDA website, and later uploaded to Wikipedia. This illustration could pass as either species, whereas the illustration of Dasystoma virginica which was labeled as Aureolaria virginica, resembles neither.
Title: Aureolaria virginica under the name Dasystoma flava (1913) Britton, N.L., and A. Brown.
Credit: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 3: 206.
Author: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown.
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No