Aira spicata Linnaeus, Species Plantarum 1: 64. 1753.

"Habitat in Lapponiae alpibus." RCN: 554.

Replaced synonym of: Aira subspicata L. (1759), nom. illeg.

Lectotype (Louis-Marie in Rhodora 30: 238. 1928): [icon] " Gramen Avenaceum paniculatum Alp. humile, locustis in spicam collectis varicoloribus aristatis " in Scheuchzer, Agrostographia Helv. Prodr.: 24, t. 6. 1708.

Current name: Trisetum spicatum (L.) K. Richt. ( Poaceae).

Note: Linnaeus accidentally gave the epithet “spicata” to two species of Aira in 1753, Aira no. 1 (p. 63) and Aira no. 7 (p. 64). Realising this, he corrected the first of these to indica [ “indicum”] on p. 1231 of vol. 2 of the same work (Errata). Hitchcock (in Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 12: 120. 1908) noted this and discussed material in LINN. Louis-Marie (1928) typified the name using the Scheuchzer plate, though Mackenzie (in Rhodora 31: 194. 1929) questioned the "doubtful correctness" of this. Edgar (in New Zealand J. Bot. 36: 556. 1998) indicated Herb. Linn. 85.7 (LINN) as the holotype, with an isotype, previously reproduced by Hultén (in Svensk Bot. Tidskr. 53: 207, f. 1. 1959), in S. Although Edgar’s choice has been followed by some later authors, that of Louis-Marie has priority, and does not appear to cause any nomenclatural disruption.