Loeflingii

Loeflingii is a botanical epithet, a specific name assigned to a plant species, cultivar, or hybrid. It is commonly used to denote a plant that was named in honor of the Swedish botanist Pehr Loefling (1729–1759). Loefling was a student of Carl Linnaeus and participated in an expedition to Spain and Portugal, where he collected and described numerous plant species.

Plants designated with "loeflingii" in their scientific name are often those that Loefling himself identified or that were subsequently named by other botanists to acknowledge his contributions to botanical exploration and classification. For example, the scientific name Silene loeflingii refers to a species of flowering plant within the family Caryophyllaceae. This plant is native to the Iberian Peninsula, a region where Loefling conducted significant fieldwork.

The presence of "loeflingii" in a plant's name serves as a historical marker, connecting the specific organism to the legacy of this 18th-century naturalist. It is a convention within binomial nomenclature to honor prominent scientists through the naming of newly discovered or classified species. Therefore, any mention of "loeflingii" in a botanical context points to a plant associated with the work and influence of Pehr Loefling.