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The Palmetto Quarterly Magazine of the Florida Native Society · Vol. 13, No. 4 · Winter 1993

The Nuance and Wit of Carolus Linnaeus

by Daniel F. Austin

"What's the use of their having names," the Gnat said, "if they won't answer to them?" "No use to them," said Alice; "but it's useful to the people that name them, I suppose." Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Anyone having even the slightest example, has at least 245 local contact with biological names has common names in four European encountered Linnaeus, usually reduced to languages! the abbreviation of "L.". Carl von Linne, a An aspect of Linnaean names Swedish botanist who lived 1707-1778, rarely appreciated, however, is has been dubbed the "father of their sporadic underlying humor. " because he was the first to The most obvious example of make consistent use of two words for Linnaeus' whimsey is his name scientific names, called binomial nomen- for our own , Homo clature (or simply binomials). Carolus sapiens, (the wise one). However, Linnaeus, as he wrote his name in Latin, he was so egocentric that some was the first to use and species think that he con-sidered himself names for , animals, rocks, minerals, the best individual of our and even diseases (he was a licensed species. Some also think that his physician, though he went through name for our species was not a medical school in less than two weeks). wry comment on humans in As "foreign" as these Latin and Greek general, but a description of names may be to non-biologists, they are himself! still better than the long sentence names Perhaps it is the comparative (polynomials) in use before 1753. Com- rarity of the dual-, (maples), Quercus (oaks), Ricinus (castor pare, for example, the differences be- humorous, and even bawdy names bean), Rhus (sumac), and the like. tween Caryophyllum saxatilis foliis applied by Linnaeus that led to his being Moreover, a number of words clearly graimineis umbellatus corymbosis and misunderstood and neglected as a honor physicians/ botanists who had Gypsophila fastigata - both of them humorist, for most of the names he gone before, such as Avicennia (black scientific names for baby's breath! assigned were commonplace. mangrove), named for the Persian Binomials also are far better than the Many of the epithets he applied were physician, Avicenna (or Ibn Sina), 980- dozens of common names that a single based on names already in use in Latin or 1036; Cordia (geiger tree), dedicated to species may have. One white water lily, for Greek. We have, from classical times, Acer Valerius Cordus, a German herbalist who lived from 1515-1544; Dioscorea (true got in the act and named Erato Even some of the designations that yams), commemorating Pedanios Dios- (Asteraceae), and Carl Martius gave us Linnaeus intended as serious have turned corides, a Greek physician, Ist century Euterpe (Arecaceae). Other names out to be humorous from our perspective. A.D.; and Malpighia (Barbados cherry), commemorating muses are Calliope Linnaeus was a deserving biologist, but named for Marcello Malpighi, an Italian pectoralis (Himalayan rubythroat), he was a deplorable geographer. His anatomidst and physician, 1628-93. Trochilus calliope (a hummingbird), Clio concept of the New World apparently Other names were obviously intended pyramidata (a pteropod mollusk), Clione consisted of Canada, Virginia, Carolina, to strengthen professional ties, as in sulphurea (a sponge), Terpsichore and Florida. We see these regions Kalmia (laurel), for his Swedish student, delapidans (an annelid), and Choreutes appearing repeatedly in scientific names Pehr Kalm, 1716-4779; Rudbeckia, after nemorana (a shortened form of such as Branta canadensis (Canada Linnaeus's professor, Olaf Rudbeck, 1630- Terpsichore; a butterfly) and Heliconius goose), Prunus virginiana (chokecherry), 1702; and Waltheria (Stercu-liaceae), for meloponene (an alternative spelling of the Centurus carolinus (red-bellied wood- August Friedrich Walther, a German muse Melpomene; a butterfly). Biologists pecker), and Sylvilagus floridanus (cot- botanist, 1688-1746. seem to have neglected only Urania, or tontail rabbit). maybe I have just missed their use of her Other organisms received descriptive One of the species showing his faulty name. species names, as did the opossum, concept of American geography is Diadelphis marsupialis, (the animal with Linneaus named Helenium Ipomoea carolina, a name he proposed a pouch or marsupium); the southern (Asteraceae) after Helena (Helen of Troy), for another morning glory. Although Carl flying squirrel, Glaucomys volans (the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta. Carl also obviously thought it was from Carolina, white mouse that flies); the sugar maple, gave us Artemisia ancient name of the this particular plant is restricted to small Acer saccharum (the maple with sugar); mugwort (Asteraceae), in memory of areas in the Bahamas and Cuba. The vine the gray snapper, Lutjanus griseus Artemisia, wife of Mausoleus (whence our has never been found anywhere in North (griseus = gray); ginseng, Panax quin- word mausoleum). He called our colic-root America, much less the Carolinas. quefolia (a "panacea" with five leaves); Aletris after a female Greek slave who Linnaeus undoubtedly did not intend and Caesar's weed, Urena lobata (from ground wheat, apparently in allusion to comedy in this instance, but he gave us a "Uren", the Malabar Indian name for the the "mealy" look of the flowers. Circaea chuckle anyway. plants, plus lobata = lobed, referring to (enchanter's night-shade), a member of One of my students recently brought the leaves). the Onagraceae, was based on Circe, the me an example of this 18th century enchantress. He even gave us Siren Linneaus also took names from botanist's caprice, in which his humor has lacertina (the greater siren) for some history, foreign languages, and other less been obviously misunderstood. In his aquatic amphibians. The association on obvious sources. He named the water book, Systema Naturae, 1758, Linnaeus these was certainly not beauty, so he lilies Nymphaea after the water nymphs of named the blue whale - the largest animal must have been talking about their Greek legend. Indeed, in one case, he that has ever lived on earth - relationship with water and the Greek went a step further and gave us not only a Balaenoptera musculus. The genus legends of temptresses. double-meaning word, but one with a Balaenoptera means, literally, "whale triple message - Musa, the banana. Ac- Other names meant to be descriptive wing", in reference to the dorsal fin. The cording to different sources, this genus at the time are almost lost on us now. species musculus means "little mouse". was named from musz, which is the Arabic Consider the herbs called Commelina The largest organism known on earth word for banana; or after Anton-ius Musa (day flowers). Linnaeus named these Linnaeus named little mouse! Musculus is (63-14 B.C.); or perhaps for the nine Greek plants after the three Dutch brothers a double-meaning word, also meaning muses themselves. Conimelijn. In his time, the allusion was muscle, but Linnaeus cannot have mis - obvious because they were either takenly used it because he also named the From among the muses, Linneaus contemporaries of Linneaus or recently mouse at the same time - Mus selected Thalia for our arrowroot in dead. Since the plants have three petals, musculus. southern Florida and tropical America. two blue and one white, Linnaeus was Various sources list this genus as being Richard Ellis, in his 1988 volume, The reminded of these brothers. Two of the derived from the name of Johann Thal, a Book of Whales, knew these facts, yet he Commelijns (Jan and Kaspar) were German physician who died in 1583. wrote (page 57): "The word musculus is prominent botanists (the two blue petals), Apparently these people have overlooked Latin for 'muscle'. . . He then noted that while the third died young and was less the most obvious source - the muse earlier writers had confused the matter" well known (the small white petal). Thalia, who presided over comedy. by suggesting that Linnaeus might have Definitely Linneaus did not miss the Equally obscure to us today is the been in a jocular mood when he named double meaning in that! origin of the legume genus, Bauhinia. It is the whale. Linnaeus absolutely delighted fairly obvious to a historian that the name in words with double meanings Everyone seems to agree that Carl commemorates the Bauhin brothers, but Undoubtedly he knew that people would named Polymnia (Asteraceae) after the which one - Johann or Caspar? In reality, wonder which he meant, the little mouse muse Polyhymnia, who presided over Linnaeus was honoring both - the plants or the muscle, when he named the blue sacred poetry. Augustin DeCandolle later have twin leaflets. whale. One doesn't have to look far to find other plants we find the genus interpretations is that the woman was not other exa mples of Linnaeus' humorous Chrysobalanus (coco plum). Most books legally married to any of the men. double meanings scattered about. translate this as "golden acorn or fruit," Siegesbeck so strongly disliked what Consider Ipomoea nil, a blue-flowered but from Brown's list, it may be rendered he considered the crude and licentious morning glory. Most people assume that with another English meaning. Linneaus nature of Linneaus' book that he had it Linneaus was not impressed with the surely saw this duality. banned from use in Russia. Whenever he beauty of the plant and named it nil, We have no need to speculate on his had an opportunity, Siegesbeck spoke out meaning - in Latin “nothing". Instead, this intent when we study the . against Linneaus and denigrated his humorist from 200 years ago was actually The name of this family is based on ideas, concepts, and methods. To get using an Asian word, possibly from Orchis, a pantemperate terrestrial orchid. revenge, Linneaus struck back. He picked Sinhalese (from Sri Lanka) or Arabic. In Though this Greek word meaning out the most ugly, small-flowered plant both languages nil means "blue". "testicle" is based on ancient usage (an insult within an insult) he could find, Linnaeus clearly knew what he was doing. according to M. L. Fernald in the 8th and dedicated its name to Siegesbeck. The most repulsive description I have edition of Gray's Manual, Linneaus chose Hence, today we have Siegesbeckia, a found applies to the plants which were to continue its application. Perhaps the group of nine species of daisy relatives later placed in the same family with those most notorious of Linneaus' indelicate (Asteraceae) native to the Old World. that give us that delightful substance, names for plants, at least in southern Although native to the region, chocolate. Linnaeus named certain trees Florida and the Caribbean, is Capparis this herb was introduced into Europe from India foetida. The genus cynophallophora. Oswald Tippo and Bill where it has become a pest plant. was based on the name of Sterculius, the Stern, in their book, Humanistic Botany, Apparently the fruits become entangled in Roman god of manuring, from the Latin relate the story of this plant, and translate the fur of sheep and are contaminants in word stercus, meaning "dung, or the technical name as the Caribbean caper shorn wool. There is a delicious irony excrement". Foetida, the specific epithet, "which bears a dog's male organ." here, in that Linneaus accidentally means "having an offensive smell". One Although Linneaus was comfortable predicted that this plant would become a of my students nicknamed our specimen naming plants after male anatomy, he weed, causing problems at least for those tree on campus the septic-tank tree seems to have been less prone to use in the wool industry. because the flowers are so putrid. female parts, with one marked exception. Linneaus is not the only one who In the same book in which Linneaus There is a legume genus Linneaus called sprinkled humor throughout the names of named Sterculia, he named Theobroma Clitoria. One species of this blue- the plant and animal kingdoms. Consider cacao - "food of the gods called cacao". flowered vine has been brought into two plant examples, Bastardia Chocolate now may be considered "food cultivation under the popular name (), named by the German of the gods" because of its delicious "butterfly pea". Probably few of those botanist, C. S. Kunth, and Schizea (the taste, but Linneaus was probably making growing the plants are aware of the fern in the family Schizaeaceae), named by a snide reference to the exclusive use of generic name and its anatomical origin. the Englishman, Sir J. E. Smith. The first of these plants in the Americas by the elite. The first publication by Linneaus to these genera was supposedly named for As a result of Linneaus' naming, we receive notoriety was his volume, Toussaint Bastard, a French botanist who now have the "food of the gods" in the published in 1735, on the sexual system. lived from 1784-1846. Surely Kunth did same family as the "god of feces" - He entitled the concept Nuptiae plan- not miss the meaning that most people . It may be biologically tarum - "marriages of plants", and it think of when they first see the name - the accurate, but it's hardly a pleasant ostensibly produced an artificial system word is spelled the same in English and commentary. of filing and retrieving specimens and German. Looking around at other plants and information about the organisms known The second name is remarkably similar animals, we find even more earthy to the scientific community. Linneaus to a German word for feces, although it is meanings in their names. Linneaus' vulgar based the system on the number of declared to be based on the Greek word titles should not be too surprising, since "male" and "female" parts in the flowers meaning "to split". This splitting is he launched his medical career by of plants. For example, he had one supposed to be a reference to the incised specializing in treatments for venereal category that he called, in Latin, leaf blades of some species. diseases. Pentandria-Monogynia. To a botanist, I cannot resist including my favorite this meant a plant with a flower having He named marine barnacles Balanus. fossil name as well, the fossil python from five and a single style and ovary. This genus is based on the Greek word the East Indies Montypythonoides Thus interpreted, it seems straight balanos, usually translated as "acorn". riversleighensis. Monty Python (a British forward enough. But to Johann George But R.W. Brown's book, Composition of comedy television show) as the source for Seigesbeck, an influential botanist in Scientific Words, has a variety of mean- the generic name is obvious; the species Russia at the time, it meant something ings listed under balanos, including a is named after the Sleigh River near which else. The least lascivious translation of sexual meaning. You may dismiss this as the fossil was found. the category might be "a woman with five an exceptional case, but if we look at some husbands", but the clear allusion of most I suggest that, when confronted with a so animals has been a difficult job. There only the "father of taxonomy", but also new scientific name, you accept the words are just so many descriptive terms that the "father of humor in science"! as a challenge. Find out what they mean. can be used before they begin to run out. Usually they are not so mysterious and Subtle and dual meanings not only break Dr. Daniel Austin has been studying the difficult as they seem, for they are often the monotony for the creator of the name, native flora of Florida since 1970, and is descriptive, and occasionally humorous. but help us remember the Latin name as Professor Emeritus of Botany at Florida After all, coming up with names for the well. I propose Carolus Linneaus as not Atlantic University. known half-million plants and a million or

Suggested citation for this article

Austin, D. 1993. The Nuance and Wit of Carolus Linnaeus. The Palmetto, 13(4):8. http://www.fnps.org/palmetto/v13i4p8austin.pdf (16 September, 2002).

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