1.2. Achyranthes sicula (L.) All., Auct. Syn. Meth. Stirp. Hort. Regii Taur.: 41. 1773 ≡ Achyranthes aspera var. sicula L., Sp. Pl.: 204. 1753. Lectotype (designated by Iamonico 2014: 406): — Herb. Linn. No. 287.1 (LINN!, image of the lectotype available at https://linnean-online. org/2873/). = Achyranthes argentea Lam., Encycl. 1: 545. 1785 ≡ Achyranthes aspera var. argentea (Lam.) Boiss., Fl. Orient. 4: 993. 1879. Lectotype (designated by Raus 2022: 337): FRANCE. H[ortus] R[egius] Parisiensis (SEVH4073!, image of the lectotype available at https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.sev-h4073). = Achyranthes argentea var. obovata Moq., Prodr. [A. P. de Candolle] 13(2): 316. 1849. Lectotype (designate here): ― SAUDI ARABIA, Mekkah, Locis cultis ad pagum Madara vallis Fadme prope Meccam, 24 november 1835, Schimper 944 (G00688924!, image available at http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/chg/adetail.php?id=668392&base=im g&lang=en); isolectotype at HBG503188! (image of the isolectotype available at https://plants.jstor.org/stable/viewer/10.5555/al.ap. specimen.hbg503188!). Typification of the name Achyranthes argentea var. obovata:― Moquin-Tandon (1849: 316) proposed this new variety to distinguish forms of Achyranthes argentea (currently a heterotypic synonym of Achyranthes sicula: see Raus 2022) with leaves circular-ovate and abaxially villous; a syntype (”Prope Meccam (Schimp.! 914, in h. DC)”) was cited. We found this specimen at G (barcode G00688924) and it is here designated as the lectotype of Moquin-Tandon’s varietal name. According to the current concept in Achyranthes (see e.g., Tutin 1993, Robertson 2003, Iamonico 2017), A. argentea var. obovata is a heterotypic synonym of A. sicula. An isolectotype is deposited at HBG (HBG503188). Chorology:― A species native to the south-eastern Mediterranean region, most of African countries, and Arabian Peninsula (Iamonico 2017, POWO 2023). Occurrence in Saudi Arabia:― Al-Madinh, ʿAsīr, Jazan, and Mekkah (Miller & Cope 1996, Collenette 1999). Specimina visa selecta:— SAUDI ARABIA. Mekkah, Locis cultis ad pagum Madara vallis Fadme prope Meccam, 24 november 1835, Schimper 944 (M0241524!).

Published as part of Hassan, Walaa A., Al-Shaye, Najla A. & Iamonico, Duilio, 2023, A critical inventory of the family Amaranthaceae s. str. in Saudi Arabia, pp. 223-246 in Phytotaxa 626 (4) on pages 228-229, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.626.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10212988