Naming
It was first published as "Gentiana spicata" by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 "Species plantarum". It was later transferred into "Erythraea" and then "Centaurium", under a broad circumscription of the latter genus that was subsequently found to be polyphyletic. In 2004 "Centaurium" was split into four genera, with "C. spicatum" becoming "Schenkia spicata". At the same time, it was noted that European and Australian specimens ascribed to this species are in fact different taxa; for example, all Australian specimens studied were tetraploid, whereas all European specimens studied were diploid. Therefore the Australian specimens were segregated into a new species, "Schenkia australis".References:
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