Taxonomic history
1753: Linnaeus described this species as Lysimachia atropurpurea in Species Plantarum, 1st ed., p. 147 of Ray Society 1957 facsimile.
Today: The current name for this species is Lysimachia atropurpurea L.
original Latin diagnosis
Lysimachia spicis terminalibus patulis lanceolatis, staminibus corolla longioribus.
English translation
Lysimachia with spikes terminal, spreading, [and] lanceolate; [and] with stamens than the corolla longer.
| Lysimachia | Lysimachia |
| with spikes | spicis - ablative plural of first declension feminine noun spica, -ae |
| terminal | terminalibus - ablative plural feminine of group B adjective terminalis, -is, -e; modifies spicis |
| spreading | patulis - ablative plural feminine of group A adjective patulus, -a, -um; modifies spicis |
| [and] | [added for smoother reading] |
| lanceolate; | lanceolatis - ablative plural feminine of group A adjective lanceolatus, -a, -um; modifies spicis |
| [and] | [added for smoother reading] |
| with stamens | staminibus - ablative plural of third declension neuter noun stamen, staminis |
| than the corolla | corolla - ablative singular of first declension feminine noun corolla; object of longioribus |
| longer. | longioribus - ablative plural neuter of comparative degree of group A adjective longus, -a, -um; agrees with staminibus |