Re-establishment of Silene neglecta Ten. with taxonomic notes on some related taxa

 Silene neglecta has been misunderstood and confused with S. nocturna , although several morphological characters (petal shape, calyx indumentum, hairiness of stamen filaments, seed size, seed-coat surface and shape) allow separation of these species. Moreover, S. mutabilis (which has been considered conspecific with S. neglecta ) and S. martinolii (an alleged endemic species to south-western Sardinia) are considered here as taxonomic synonyms of S. nocturna and S. neglecta , respectively. These taxonomic conclusions are strongly supported by multivariate morphometric analyses of 21 characters. Keywords: Mediterranean Basin, morphometrics, nomenclature, taxonomy