Thus Oxford Dictionaries Online defines the term as "a taxonomic name which has the same application as another, especially one which has been superseded and is no longer valid".
[4] In handbooks and general texts, it is useful to have synonyms mentioned as such after the current scientific name, so as to avoid confusion.
For example, a particular species could, over time, have had two or more species-rank names published for it, while the same is applicable at higher ranks such as genera, families, orders, etc.
For other purposes, if a researcher is interested in consulting or compiling all currently known information regarding a taxon, some of this (including species descriptions, distribution, ecology and more) may well have been published under names now regarded as outdated (i.e., synonyms) and so it is again useful to know a list of historic synonyms which may have been used for a given current (valid) taxon name.
Objective synonyms refer to taxa with the same type and same rank (more or less the same taxon, although circumscription may vary, even widely).
For example, John Edward Gray published the name Antilocapra anteflexa in 1855 for a species of pronghorn, based on a pair of horns.
However, it is now commonly accepted that his specimen was an unusual individual of the species Antilocapra americana published by George Ord in 1815.
[11] Such a reversal of precedence is also possible if the senior synonym was established after 1900, but only if the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) approves an application.
The status of a synonym may be indicated by symbols, as for instance in a system proposed for use in paleontology by Rudolf Richter.
[13] The accurate use of scientific names, including synonyms, is crucial in biomedical and pharmacological research involving plants.
Failure to use correct botanical nomenclature can lead to ambiguity, hinder reproducibility of results, and potentially cause errors in medicine.
This practice ensures clear communication, allows proper linking of research to existing literature, and provides insight into phylogenetic relationships that may be relevant to shared chemical constituents or physiological effects.
Online databases now make it easy for researchers to access correct nomenclature and synonymy information for plant species.