Nomen illegitimum
term used in nomenclature (ICNafp)
Nomen illegitimum (Latin for illegitimate name) is a technical term used mainly in botany. It is usually abbreviated as nom. illeg. Although the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants uses Latin terms as qualifiers for taxon names (e.g. nomen conservandum for "conserved name", and nomen superfluum for "superfluous name"), the definition of each term is in English rather than Latin. The Latin abbreviations are widely used by botanists and mycologists.
Definition
A nomen illegitimum is a validly published name, but one that contravenes some of the articles laid down by the International Botanical Congress. The name could be illegitimate because:
(article 52) it was superfluous at its time of publication, i.e., the taxon (as represented by the type) already has a name, or
(articles 53 and 54) the name has already been applied to another plant (a homonym).
For the procedure of rejecting otherwise legitimate names, see conserved name.
The qualification above concerning the taxon and the type is important.
“Nomen illegitimum” enters the record as term used in nomenclature (ICNafp). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Nomen, illegitimum and term can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Nomen illegitimum” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Nomen, illegitimum and term provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1093954. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Nomen illegitimum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.