Taxonomy
The taxonomy and naming of the American species is confused and extensively disputed. The first dispute is over the exact identity of the specimen first named by Linnaeus as H. carolina; some contend that it is the same as H. parviflora, while others say it is the same as H. tetraptera. The second dispute is over whether H. monticola is sufficiently distinct from the other species to merit specific recognition or not (with its varietal placing depending on the above question, too). Neither question has yet been conclusively answered.
The genus was named after Stephen Hales by John Ellis, publishing the name in the tenth edition of Linnaeus's Systema Naturae in 1759. The name is conserved as the same name had been used in an obscure earlier publication in 1756 for a different plant.
Read more about this topic: Halesia