The Nuance and Wit of Carolus Linnaeus
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The Palmetto Quarterly Magazine of the Florida Native Plant 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. taxonomy" 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 species, 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 genus and species think that he con-sidered himself names for plants, 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-meaning, (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 house 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 Orchidaceae. against Linneaus and denigrated his humorist from 200 years ago was actually The name of this family is based on ideas, concepts, and methods.