Editing Rafflesia (section)

== Taxonomy ==
[[Robert Brown (Scottish botanist from Montrose)|Robert Brown]] introduced the genus ''Rafflesia'' to the wider scientific world in a presentation before the [[Linnean Society of London]] in June 1820, but his scientific paper on the subject was only published in late 1821.<ref name=ipni/>

In 1999 the British botanical historian [[David Mabberley]] pointed out that the genus ''Rafflesia'' was first validated by an anonymous report on the meeting published in the ''Annals of Philosophy'' in September 1820 (the name was technically an unpublished ''[[nomen nudum]]'' until this publication). Mabberley claimed the author was [[Samuel Frederick Gray]].<ref name=Mabberley1999>{{cite journal |last=Mabberley |first=David John |author-link=David Mabberley |date=1999 |title=Robert Brown on ''Rafflesia'' |url=https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/525222/BLUM1999044002003.pdf |journal=Blumea |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=343–350 |issn=2212-1676 |access-date=28 October 2020}}</ref> However, as that is nowhere stated in the ''Annals'', per Article 46.8 of the code of ICBN, Mabberley was wrong to formally ascribe the validation to Gray. The validation of the name was thus attributed to one Thomas Thomson, the editor of the ''Annals'' in 1820, by the IPNI. Mabberley admitted his error in 2017.<ref name=ipni/> This Thomson was not the botanist [[Thomas Thomson (botanist)|Thomas Thomson]], who was three years old in 1820, but his [[Thomas Thomson (chemist)|identically named father]], a chemist.<ref name=ipni3>{{cite web |title=Thomson bis |url=https://www.ipni.org/?q=Thomson%20bis |website=[[International Plant Names Index]] |publisher=The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens |access-date=29 October 2020}}</ref>