Editing Eryngium (section)

===Taxonomic history===
The genus name ''Eryngium'' was established by [[Linnaeus]] in 1753 where he mentioned eight species, including two from America (''E. aquaticum'', ''E. foetidum''). Linnaeus, in ''[[Genera Plantarum]]'' (1754), cited his source of the name ''Eryngium'' as being from [[Joseph Tournefort]]’s ''[[Institutiones rei herbariae]]'' (1700). The name itself has an Ancient Greek origin as eryggion (ερυγγιον). <ref name=Worz2011>Wörz, A. (2011). Revision of ''Eryngium'' L. (''Apiaceae'' - ''Saniculoideae''): general part and Palaearctic species. ''Bibliotheca Botanica'' 159 1-498.</ref>

Prior to the nomenclatural establishment of ''Eryngium'' by Linnaeus, plants that can be recognised as belonging to the genus were mentioned by [[Theophrastus]] (371–287BC), [[Pedanius Dioscorides]] (40–90AD), [[Otto Brunfels]] (1532) and [[Leonhart Fuchs]] (1543). Early mentions of American species were made by [[Francisco Hernández de Toledo]] (1651) and [[Leonard Plukenet]] (1692).<ref name="Worz2011" />

After Linnaeus, a major treatment of the genus was made by [[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck]] (1798) who mentioned 25 species, and [[Antonio José Cavanilles]] (1800, 1801) who described at least seven species, six of which were from America. The first monograph of the genus was by [[François-Étienne de La Roche]] (1808), which covers 50 species. In the 19th century further European and Asian species were described by [[Pierre Edmond Boissier]] and [[Augustin Pyramus de Candolle]], and American species by [[Adelbert von Chamisso]], [[Joseph Decaisne]], [[William Jackson Hooker]], [[August Grisebach]], [[Willis Linn Jepson]] and [[Rodolfo Amando Philippi]]. In 1913 Karl F.A.H. Wolff published a major revision of the genus, discussing 196 species which he allocated to 34 sections while also recognising a division between Old World (Europe and Asia) and New World (America and Australia) species. The understanding of American species was further enhanced by [[Mildred E. Mathias]] (1906–1995) and [[Lincoln Constance]] (1909–2001) who published a synopsis of North American species (Mathias & Constance 1941) and described a total of 18 species from North and South America.<ref name="Worz2011" /> 

More recently, Arno Wörz has made a major contribution to the understanding of the genus with his revision of European, Asian and African species (Wörz 2011 <ref name="Worz2011" />) and his checklist of all species (Wörz 1999 <ref name=Worz1999>Wörz, A. (1999). A taxonomic index of the species of ''Eryngium'' L. (''Apiaceae'': ''Saniculoideae''). ''Stuttgarter Beitrage zur Naturkunde, Ser. A.'' 596 1-48.</ref>).