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Home , Blighia, Botanical nomenclature, Carolus (plant), Common name, Epithet, Ficus (gastropod)

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Botanical Studies Open Educational Resources and

2-2017 The cS ientific aN mes of James P. Smith Jr Humboldt State University, [email protected]

Follow and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/botany_jps Part of the Commons

Recommended Citation Smith, James P. Jr, "The cS ientific aN mes of Plants" (2017). Botanical Studies. 28. http://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/botany_jps/28

This - Systematic Botany is brought to you for free and open access by the Open Educational Resources and Data at Digital Commons @ Humboldt State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Botanical Studies by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Humboldt State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF PLANTS

James P. Smith, Jr. Professor of Botany Department of Biological Sciences Humboldt State University Arcata, California

18 February 2017

Plants often have two names -- a used Because there are no universally accepted rules for by most of us in everyday circumstances when we need giving common names to plants or a panel or committee to make reference to a plant growing in the yard or that passes judgment, we cannot say that one is the something that we might wish to purchase at the correct common name. There are certainly instances in market. They also have scientific names or names, which this becomes critical. If you pay $1000 for an as they are sometimes called, used by botanists, ornamental at a nursery, you want to be very sure agronomists, and by the "serious" amateur, etc. of what you are getting.

Common names do not provide an indication of close COMMON NAMES relationship among the plants that share the name. Sour-grass, arrow-grass, blue-eyed grass, grass It would be foolish for me to maintain that common (marijuana), and -grass are not kinds of grasses, names have no value. They are the only names known nor are they related to one another. to most of us. These names are often simple, easy to remember, descriptive, colorful, pleasing to the ear, and Probably the most serious difficulty is that most plants easy to pronounce. do not have common names. We have used only a small portion of the half million or so kinds of plants to the Given this impressive list of advantages, why do we not extent that common names have been applied to them. simply use common names for plants and be done with This is a problem for authors of field guides, for it? There are several reasons why botanists and other consultants who write environmental impact statements, scientists do not use them. and for staff members in various state and federal agencies who must prepare material for general A plant may have more than one common name. The consumption. Authors have attempted to compensate broad-leaved plantain, a common lawn weed, has for this lack of common names by inventing them, almost fifty other common names in English alone. In usually by translating the scientific name into English. California and Oregon, one of our common is The advantage of "Milo Baker's " over called bay, bay , California bay, myrtle, myrtlewood, Cryptantha milobakeri is not immediately apparent to pepperwood, and Oregon myrtle. me.

The same common name may be used for more than one plant. Laurel is a common name applied to trees in SCIENTIFIC NAMES five different plant families. We all know what corn is. You may be surprised to learn that in other English- Although scientific names may cause you some speaking countries, their corn is what we call wheat. discomfort, their advantages to the botanist are compelling. There is a single, universally recognized Many common names are confusing. A pineapple is not name for each plant. Because they are used by a kind of , nor is it an . Kentucky bluegrass is botanists all over the world, scientific names facilitate not blue, nor is it native to Kentucky. Names such as the free transfer of ideas and information. Consider the "welcome home husband, no matter how drunk ye be," difficulties that would arise if the botanists in the United "kiss me over the garden gate," "spotted arsemart," and States, England, , Russia, China, etc. each had "ramping fumitory" make it difficult to maintain that their own independent set of names for the plants of common names have brevity and clarity of meaning. their countries.

-1- The same scientific name may not be used for more discover that the name given to a particular plant has to than one kind of plant. Once it has been published, that be rejected because it violated some provision of the name cannot be used again for any other plant. International Code.. Both of these examples point out one of the important operating principles in plant Scientific names are governed by the International Code classification. As new information becomes available and of for , Fungi, and Plants. These as errors are discovered, we make adjustments and regulations are reviewed every four years at Inter- corrections. What appears to be a fine scheme of national Botanical Congresses. have their own classification today may be modified drastically or even separate code of nomenclature. discarded completely at some point in the future.

Inherent in our system of scientific names is the concept of evolutionary or genetic relationship. When we name COMPONENTS OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES the white potato, , and black nightshade tuberosum, Solanum melongena, and In the botanical works of the 15th and 16th centuries, Solanum nigrum, respectively, we are indicating that the scientific name of a plant was often a lengthy these three plants belong to the same , Solanum, of descriptive words, typically in Latin. These phrase and that they are related to one another. Because there names or polynomials became increasingly awkward is a set of botanical features associated with the name, because the discovery of a new kind of plant required it has predictive value. If you know a plant belongs to that the existing polynomial be slightly modified so that the genus Quercus, the true , you can predict all it could be distinguished from the older one, as in the kinds of things about it. You can bet good money that following examples: it will be a tree or with of a certain shape, and that it will have the familiar acorn as its . folio (Clusius, 1576)

There are some difficulties with scientific names. They Convolvulus argenteus Althaea folio (Bauhin, 1623) can be difficult to pronounce, especially if you did not learn to divide words into syllables early on in your Convolvulus argentateus foliis ovatis divisis basi education. You might note, however, that such familiar truncatis: laciniis intermediis duplo longioribus and easily pronounced common names as , (Linnaeus, 1738) , , , , and are also the first part of the scientific names of A new way of naming plants, using only two words, was these plants. My own experience in teaching developed by Caspar Bauhin (1560-1624). August undergraduates to use scientific names is that once you Rivinus (1652-1723) also proposed that plants ought to can get past the psychological barrier that these are have names of no more than two words. You probably terribly long words that only those who have had a thought it invented by Linnaeus (1707-1778), strong background in Latin and Greek can pronounce, because so many textbooks incorrectly give him the then you will become much more comfortable with them credit. At first, the use of this two-word scheme was and begin using them rather easily. sporadic. The event that perhaps more than any other assured its permanent use in scientific writing was that One of the most frustrating features of scientific names, Linnaeus adopted it in his monumental work, “ especially for someone who is just learning about them, Plantarum.” Here was a catalogue of all of the world’s is that they are changed from time to time. Just when plants known to him , prepared by the leading naturalist you think that you have become familiar with the of the day. scientific names for a particular group of plants, someone will publish a new revision of the group and This system was based upon the principle that each you discover that some of the names have been plant (or for that matter, because they are changed. These changes come about for several named according to the same scheme) is given a reasons. As new information about the anatomy, scientific name that consists of two components, both of chemistry, and genetics of plants and analytical them parts of the taxonomic hierarchy mentioned techniques become known, it may cause botanists to above. The first element of the scientific name is the rethink the evolutionary relationships among the plants genus (or generic name), as in Triticum, the genus of being studied. These changes may require us to revise wheat. The plural of genus is genera, not genuses. The the scientific names to reflect the new level of second element is the specific epithet, as in aestivum, information now available to us. the particular kind of wheat called breadwheat. This Sometimes names are changed, not for biological second element of the scientific name is often reasons, but because someone studying a group may incorrectly called the "species." It is the genus and

-2- specific epithet together that the species name. Alice Eastwood found a new manzanita that she named Triticum aestivum is the species name of bread wheat. bakeri. Many years later, another expert Because the name of a plant or animal is the on the genus concluded that Eastwood’s shrub should combination of these two words, the scientific name is not be recognized as a distinct species, but as a called a binomial and we call this scheme of giving of Arctostaphylos pungens. Arctostaphylos technical names to the binomial system of bakeri Eastwood then becomes Arctostaphylos pungens nomenclature. Kunth ssp. bakeri (Eastwood) J. B. Roof.

Here is an example from the “.” If two or more person’s names are involved, they are connected with the ampersand (&) or with et the Latin 11. word for and, as in Torrey & Gray, Coulter et , or Conyza foliis ovalibus integerrimus scabris subtus Humboldt, Bonpland, & Kunth. hirsutis. hirsuta Most scientific names have rather straightforward The “11" is the number Linnaeus assigned to this authorship. Linnaeus published the name for one of our particular Conyza, a member of Compositae. Conyza is local duckweeds, minor, in his “Species the genus. The next six words make up the diagnosis, Plantarum” in 1753. Look in volume 2, page 970 and the Latin description of the plant. The word hirsuta there it is. Now let’s turn to the name of a local endemic against the margin is the nomen triviale or trivial grass, rhizomata. It was named by the noted name. The binomial shorthand name for the plant is American agrostologist, A. S. Hitchcock. However, you Conyza hirsuta. will not be able to find a scientific paper or a book authored by Hitchcock that contains that scientific name. The reason is that the name appears in the AUTHOR NAMES treatment of California grasses that Hitchcock was asked to prepare for the “ of California” by Jepson. The binomial, for reasons of completeness and It is Willis Linn Jepson who is the author of the flora; accuracy, is followed by the name(s) of the person or Hitchcock was a contributor. While it is common to see persons who first published that name for the plant. For the combination cited as Poa rhizomata Hitchcock, it example, in the scientific name mays L., the "L." should be more accurately cited as Poa rhizomata stands for Linnaeus. You will also see his name Hitchcock in Jepson. The connector “in” alerts you to abbreviated as Linn. or spelled out. the fact that the first-named person actually authored a new name or made a new combination in a work that Sometimes you will see the abbreviation “f.” after tha bears the second person’s name. The rules allow you to authors’s name, as in “Hook. f.” It stands for the Latin omit the “in such-and such,” but I do not believe that it word fil, which means son. This plant, then, was named is good practice. The more complete citation is a great by the elder Hooker’s son, who was also a famous help in tracking the name back through the literature. botanist. What if a botanist proposed a new name or a new It is sometimes necessary to transfer the name of a combination, but never actually published it? A later plant from one genus to another, usually because more worker can, in a sense, give credit to this person’s work recent research has demonstrated that the plant was when he or she publishes it by inserting the connector incorrectly assigned to a particular genus. For instance, “ex” between their two names. Joseph Nelson Rose one of our endemic California grasses was originally found a new relative of Spanish- in southern named mucronata by Beecher Crampton. A . He proposed the name baileyi, but study by John Reeder demonstrated that this species never actually published it. John Kunkel Small published was not closely to others in the genus and he moved the name in his “Flora of the Southeastern United the epithet into a new genus, . What was States.” The plant is now known as Tillandsia baileyi Orcuttia mucronata Crampton becomes Tuctoria Rose ex Small. If you think of ex meaning “but actually mucronata (Crampton) Reeder. The person whose name published by” it might help. The rules again permit is in the parentheses first published the specific epithet shortening the scientific name to Tillandsia baileyi Small. for the plant. The name after the parentheses is that of the person who transferred it into the genus where it now resides.

The same convention is used when the of a plant is changed. The famous California botanist

-3- generalities: SUBSPECIES, VARIETIES, & ! Generic names that end in -us, -er, or -on are usually masculine. One bit of convention, however, It is often useful to recognize variation within a species. is that the genera of trees ending in -us (e. g. The two most widely used are the subspecies Quercus, Alnus, Fagus, Pinus) are considered (abbreviated ssp. or subsp.) and the feminine. The names of most rivers and mountains (abbreviated var.). These names also have authors, as are masculine, unless they end in -a or -e. in sativa L. ssp. indica (Lamarck) E. Small & Cronquist. If the subspecies or varietal name is a repeat ! Generic names that end in -a, -ago, -ix, -odes, - of the specific epithet, then the author is not repeated, oides, -is, and -es are usually feminine. The names as in Zea mays L. ssp. mays. of most countries, islands, cities, and trees are feminine. An additional explanation is needed for the term variety. For reasons that are obvious, we have developed many ! Generic names that end in -um and -dendron are different cultivated strains of a particular crop plant or neuter. ornamental. There are literally thousands of different kinds of rice. There are probably hundreds of different The names of many of our genera comes directly from kinds of tuberous . In general parlance, we the classical Latin or Greek names given to plants. Julius often call these varieties. However, for purposes of Caesar called a pine tree “pinus.” Socrates wandered formal nomenclature, these variations are considered around in some grass that he would have called too minor and often too short-lived to warrant giving “agrostis.” What we call figs, he called “.” Many them a scientific name. The variety of botanical other generic names were constructed by later nomenclature is not used in these instances. Instead, botanists, using classical Latin and Greek , to we employ the term (abbreviated cv.). The describe a new genus. Linnaeus based the generic "Martha Washington" is technically known as name Sagittaria on the Latin word sagitta, an arrow. hortense cv. 'Martha Washington.' What is our common name for plants of this genus? Arrowheads, because of the shape of the leaf blade. Many plants are of hybrid origin, that is they result from The table below presents some examples of these and the accidental or purposeful crossing of two closely other sources of generic names. related plants. This can be reflected in the scientific name of the plant by inserting an "X." If the X occurs SOURCES OF GENERIC NAMES before the generic name (X Elyhordeum), then the plant is considered the result of a cross between two plants Classical Latin or Greek in different genera, Elymus and Hordeum in this example. If the X occurs between the generic name and Acer Latin for the tree the specific epithet, then the plant is the product of a Agrostis Greek for a kind of grass cross between two species in the same genus. Tillandsia Arnica Origin unknown x smalliana is a hybrid between T. balbisiana and T. Latin for a dogwood fasciculata. Fagus Latin for the tree Juniperus Latin for the juniper Greek for the GENERIC NAMES Latin for the lily Phalaris Greek for a canary grass The scientific name of a plant is considered to be in Pinus Latin for a pine Latin. Many really are. Many others are Greek. Some are Quercus Latin for an a combination of Latin and Greek. Still others derive Latin name for the yew from many different languages. From a grammatical standpoint, the name of a genus is a singular noun or a Medieval Latin- or Greek-based word that is treated as a noun. Because they are singular, there are no such things as Poas, Ranunculi, Latin, referring to shape , etc. Latin, referring to hairiness Greek, -like leaves In Latin, unlike English, nouns are masculine, feminine, Tanacetum Greek, referring to immortality or neuter. How do you tell the gender of a noun? There are no absolute rules, but here are some pretty good

-4- Modern Latin- or Greek-based Sassafras sasafras (Spanish)

Agrostemma Greek, field + garland Modern geographical names Arctostaphylos Greek, bear + bunch of grapes Greek, best + childbirth Caribea of the Caribbean Latin, a valley of Mt. Helicon Latin, a finger of Mt. Parnassus Greek, + grass Taiwania of Latin, + bristle Utahia of Utah Gymnocladus Greek, naked + branch Yushiana of [Mt.] Yushan Greek, sweet + snow Liquidambar Latin, liquid + amber Anagrams Latin, feather + bristle Greek, five + Docynia Cydonia Petasites Greek, a broad-rimmed hat Muilla Greek, an old man Tellima Mitella Tuctoria Orcuttia Modern names from mythology Tylecodon

Andromeda Maiden chained to rock Who Knows? Atropa One of the Fates Calypso Daughter of Atlas Mother of Andromeda Goddess of youth Liatris Handsome, self-centered guy

Modern commemorative names SPECIFIC EPITHETS Michel Adanson, botanist Lt. William Bligh, naval officer Specific epithets are adjectives, participles (verbs Carnegeia Andrew Carnegie, industralist pretending to be adjectives) or nouns. If they are Fremontia John Fremont, U. S. Army officer nouns, their endings do not change with the gender of , physician the genus. But, if they are adjectives or participles then Carolus Linnaeus, naturalist they must agree with the gender of the generic name. Magnolia , botanist This can be tricky, as seen in the following examples: Jean Nicot, diplomat Parkinsonia John Parkinson, apothecary Masculine-Feminine-Neuter Resia Richard Evans Schultes, botanist T. Romney Robinson, astronomer albus-alba-album Sequoya, Cherokee leader canadensis-canadensis-canadense Serenoa Sereno Watson, botanist pubescens-pubescens-pubescens Torreya John Torrey, botanist In the first example, the Latin word for white has a Modern names different ending for each of three genders (-us, -a, - um). In the second example, the masculine and amelancier (French) feminine have the same ending; in the third, all three bambu (Malayan) genders have the same ending. Now let’s take an Cocos coco (Portuguese) epithet and see how it changes when used with three copaiba (Brazilian) genera of grasses. dhatura (Hindi) gin + kyo (Japanese) Hevea heve (Guyanan) Genus Gender Epithet Jasminum yasmin (Persian) mouz or moz (Arabian) Elymus Masculine Petunia petun (Brazilian) Poa Feminine glauca Saccharum singkara (Malay) Pennisetum Neuter glaucum

-5- circum- around This bit of arcane lore also explains why Uniola laxa cis- on this side becomes Chasmanthium laxum or Haplopappus annuus ecto- out of , from becomes Machaeranthera annua when names are endo- inside of, within transferred from one genus to another. epi- on top of ex- from, out of Specific epithets can be commemorative, as in extra- outside lemmonii or Cryptantha milo-bakeri. They may also be hyper- beyond, above based on a classical or aboriginal name for that hypo- beneath particular plant. Linnaeus named tobacco Nicotiana infra- below tabacum after the Taino Indian word that they used for inter- between or among the plant. However, most of the specific epithets have intra- within been constructed by using classical prefixes, suffixes, intro- inside and roots to describe some feature of the plant that ob- against sets it off from others. In other words, most epithets para- near, beside function as adjectives to tell you something about the peri- around plant – its size, shape, color, surface features, numbers sub- below of parts, etc. Here are some examples of prefixes, super- (supra-) above suffixes, roots, and classical/aboriginal names that have syn- together, united been used as specific epithets. trans- across, beyond ultra- beyond SOURCES OF EPITHETS Prefixes: Shapes & Sizes Prefixes: Numbers of Parts angusti- narrow uni-/mono- 1 brachy-/brevi- short bi-/di- 2 crass- thick tri- 3 cyatho- cup-shaped quadri-/tetra- 4 cyclo- circular quinque-/penta- 5 fili- thread-like sex-/hexa- 6 hemi- half semptem-/hepta- 7 hetero- different octo- 8 holo- entire novem-/- 9 - like or same decem-/deca- 10 - equal amphi- of two kinds or conditions lanci- lance-shaped dicho in two lati- broad diplo- double lepto- slender haplo- single longi- long multi- many macro- large myrio- countless mega- really large oligo- few micro- small - (panto-) all nano- dward pauci- few odonto- tooth-shaped pluri- several ortho- straight poly- many ovi- egg-shaped sesqui- one and a half pachy- thick terni in 3's parvi- small platy- broad Prefixes: Relative Position semi- half steno- narrow a- (ab-) away from tenui- slender ad- toward, against uro- tailed amphi- on both sides of apo- apart, away from dia- through

-6- Prefixes: Color xylo- woody zygo- joined atro- black chloro- green Suffixes chryso- golden cyano- dark blue -aceus resembling erythro- reddish -aeus belonging to flavi- yellowish -alis possessing or pertaining to leuco- white -anus belonging to melano- black -arium a place where work is done ochro- yellowish -ascens becoming rhodo- rose-colored -aticus place of growth viridi- green -atilis place of growth - yellowish -bundus having an abundance of -cundus aptitude or tendency Prefixes: Surfaces - place of origin or growth -escens becoming argyro- silvery -estris place of growth dasy- shaggy -eus resembling erio- woolly -icans more or less identical to gymno- naked -icola dwelling in hirti- long-hairy -icus belonging to laevi- smooth -idus in progress lani- smooth -inus possessing or resembling leio- smooth -oides (-deus) resembling lepido- scaly -orius capability nudi- naked -osus having an abundance of trachy- rough -ulentus fullness tricho- hairy

Prefixes: Miscellaneous Classical/aboriginal Names a- without batata for sweet potato actino- star-shaped carota Ancient name for carrot andro- male cepa Latin name for the onion carpo- relating to intybus Latin for endive crypto- hidden mays Indian name for corn or maize e- without napus Latin for turnip eu- true, good rhoeas Greek for a wild poppy gamo- fused or united tabacum Indian name for tobacco geo- relating to the earth gyno- female Geographical Names laxi- loose neo- new anglicus of England non- not australis southern oxy- sharp borealis northern phanero- easily visible canadensis of Canada phyllo- pertaining to a leaf centralis central phyto- pertaining to a plant chilensis of Chile pseudo- false gallicus of France ptero- winged germanicus of Germany rhizo- pertaining to roots helvitcus of Switzerland sapro- rotten hispanicus of Spain schizo- deeply divided ludovicianus of Louisiana sclero- hard novae-anglicae of New England xero- dry noveboracensis of New York

-7- occidentalis western ruderalis of waste places (weedy) orientalis eastern rupestris among the rocks septentrionalis northern sativus cultivated sinensis of China saxitilis of the rocks sylvaticus of the Stature tectorum of roofs or houses terrestris of dry ground altissimus tall angustatus narrow Surfaces & Margins depauperatus reduced elata taller aculeatus prickly exiguus little aristatus awned humilis dwarf barbatus bearded procerus very tall ciliatus fringed with hairs pumilus dwarf comosus bearded, tufted pusillus very small crispus curled dentatus toothed Growth Form echinatus spiny farinosus mealy arboreus tree glaber smooth decumbens reclining guttatus spotted dumosus shrubby hystrix bristly fruticosus shrubby inermis unarmed furcatus forked integerrimus quite entire gracilis slender laevigatus smooth, as if polished patens spreading lanosus woolly prostratus lying flat maculatus spotted, blotched radiatus spreading from the center marginatus edged ramosus branched mollis soft-hairy repens creeping mucosus slimy scandens climbing muricatus with short, hard points volubilis twining nitens shining, polished papillosus pimply Habitat pubens downy punctatus with glands, pits, dots agrestis of fields or cultivated lands rugosus wrinkled alpestris almost alpine scaber rough, harsh alsodes of the woods serratus sawed arenarius growing in sand sericeus silky arvensis of the fields, esp. plowed setosus bristly campestris of the fields sulcatus furrowed collinus of the hills undulatus wavy-margined demersum growing under water urens stingning fluitans floating on the water velutinus velvety fluviatilis of the rivers vittatus striped fontinalis of the springs lacustris of the lakes and ponds Shapes littoralis of the seashore maritimus of the sea acicularis needle-like muralis growing on walls acris sharp-pointed natans floating on the water alatus winged nemoralis of the groves auriculatus eared paludosus of boggy places campanulatus bell-shaped palustris of the marshes capillaceus hair-like pratensis of the meadows carinatus keeled riparius of the river banks caudatus tailed

-8- clavatus club-shaped Miscellaneous cornutus horned costatus ribbed acaulis stemless cristatus crested amabilis lovely in appearance cuneatus wedge-shaped arundinaceus reed-like flabellatus small fan baccatus -like linearis narrow, linear caducous falling early lunatus crescent-shaped cernuus nodding or drooping lyratus lyre-shaped communis gregarious obtusus blunt debilis weak pungens sharp-pointed didymus paired formosus beautiful Colors frondosus leafy foetidus foul-smelling albus white furcatus forked argenteus silvery geniculatus abruptly bent atropurpureus dark purple graveolens heavy-scented aurantiacus orange hyemalis of winter aureus golden-yellow imbricatus overlapping azureus sky-blue junceus rush-like caeruleus deep blue lucidus bright, clear canescens becoming grayish mirabilis wonderful cinereus ash gray nivalis showy citrinus lemon ovinus of sheep coccineus scarlet nudatus exposed croceus saffron pectinatus comb-like ferrugineus rusty perrenans perennial flavus yellow peregrinus exotic flavescens becoming yellow plicatus folded in pleats glaucus gray-green praecox developing very early incanus whitish-gray pulchellus beautiful incarnatus flesh-colored serotinus developing late lividus lead-colored speciosus beautiful murinus mouse-colored spectabilis showy niger black truncatus cut off at the end niveus purest white tuberosus having a swollen part purpureus purple uncinatus hooked roseus rose-colored validus strong rubens reddish ventricosus swollen, especially on 1 side sanguineus blood red virgatus twiggy stramineus straw-colored vulgaris common violaceus violet virens green discolor not uniformly colored WRITING SCIENTIFIC NAMES concolor of uniform color versicolored variously colored There are a few simple rules that must be followed in writing scientific names. The genus is always Uses capitalized. The specific epithet should not be capitalized. The rules allow them to be if they are edulis edible commemorative, as in Elymus Smithii (a relative, no esculentus edible doubt) or if the epithet was once a generic name itself, officinalis medicinal, official as in Acer Negundo, the box-elder. Even in such somniferum sleep inducing instances, however, the rules discourage . textilis having useful fibers tinctorius used in dyeing The generic name and specific epithet are underlined when they appear in handwritten or typed material.

-9- They are put in italics or bold-face in printed text. The in the classical version. name or names that constitute the authority get an initial capital letter, just as in ordinary usage. They are ! Each syllable will contain a vowel or a double vowel not underlined, bolded, or italicized. combination (ae, au, ei, oe, or ui). These are called diphthongs.

PRONOUNCING SCIENTIFIC NAMES ! Pronounce all of the syllables. is "ri-," not "rîbs." The International Code specifies that scientific names of plants are to be treated as Latin words, regardless of ! Final vowels are long, with the exception of a. If a their origin. Why Latin? Because it was the language of word ends in two vowels (unless they are a scholars and generally educated people in and diphthong), they are sounded separately. The most of the western world at the time that botanists epithet quinquefolia is pronounced "kwin-kwe-fo-li- starting getting serious about a stable system of naming ah." plants. Scholarly works of all sorts were published in Latin. When Linnaeus was botanizing in France, ! The diphthongs "ae" and "oe" have the sound "e," Germany, and England he spoke in Latin to his hosts as in beat; "au" has the sound of "aw," as in the and to those who joined him on his jaunts. And they word awful; "ei" usually has the sound "i," as in understood him and answered back! To a considerable site; "eu" has the sound of "u," as in neuter; and degree, English has replaced Latin in this century as the "ui" has the ui-sound in the word ruin. “international language” of science and business. ! The "oi" in the ending "-oides" is treated as a Stearn (1992) noted that “How [scientific names] are diphthong by most American botanists and we give pronounced really matters little provided they sound it the sound that "oi" has in the word oil. This pleasant and are understood by all concerned. This is is considered close to barbaric by English and most likely to be attained by pronouncing them in Europeans who are much more persnickety about accordance with the rules of classical Latin such matters. Because these two vowels do not pronunciation.” A few of the more scholastically inclined form a diphthong, they should be pronounced botanists will argue, therefore, that we ought to separately, so that the ending "-oides" has the pronounce scientific names according to the strict rules sound "-o-e-deez." of the sounds of vowels and consonants in Latin and that great care should be taken in accenting the proper ! A single consonant is placed with the following syllable. But, there are traditional English, reformed vowel, as in "pa-ter." Double consonants are academic, and Church Latin versions of Latin to choose separated, as in "am-mi." If there are two or more from, each with its own set of rules for pronunciation. consonants, the first one is usually put with the preceding vowel, as in "an-gli-cus." Most American botanists pronounce the scientific names of plants as though they were English words. Some of ! B, d, f, h, l, m, n, p, qu, and z are pronounced the us follow the rules in Latin for determining which same in Latin and English. syllable is accented; most of us do not. Many of us pronounce scientific names the way we were taught as ! The consonants c and g are soft (that is, have the undergraduates (if any formal discussion occurred) or sounds of "s" and "j") if they are followed by ae, e, more commonly we imitate the way our professors said i, oe, or y. Otherwise, the c is pronounced like a "k" them when we took their classes. These become the and the g is also hard, as in "go." The s is always familiar and "correct" way to pronounce the scientific pronounced as it is in the word "so," not as a "z." names of plants. An initial x is pronounced as a "z," not "ek-z." is "zan-thi-um," not "ek-zan-thi-um." The following is an attempt to present a basic guide to pronouncing vowels, consonants, and diphthongs, ! The first letter is silent in words beginning with cn, together with some of the rules for accenting syllables. ct, gn, mn, pn, ps, pt, and tm. It is based largely on the work of the late William T. Stearn, who was generally acknowledged as the world’s ! Accenting the proper syllable can be tricky. leading expert on botanical Latin. Sometimes the author of a flora or other manual may provide assistance by including an accent ! The letters of the Latin alphabet are basically the mark. Most do not. If included, they are for the same as ours, except that J, U, and W did not occur convenience of the reader and they are not part of

-10- the scientific name itself. If you must determine which syllable to accent, the following rules may be NAMES helpful. Words of two syllables are always accented on the first syllable. In words of three or more The scientific names of families, tribes, and orders, etc. syllables, the last syllable is never accented. The are also governed by the International Code. Unlike the stress will fall either on the next to the last syllable names of individual plants and genera, these names (the penultimate syllable), as in "ar-ven-sis," or on have standardized endings. With a few exceptions, they the third from the last syllable (antepenultimate), must also be based on a generic name. as in "an-gli-cus." No matter how long the word, the accent can never be to the left of the Family names must end in the suffix “-aceae,” as in antepenultimate syllable. Deciding between these Araceae, Rosaceae, etc. But there is an escape clause two options is a difficult choice. Accent the in the Code that gives primacy to eight family names penultimate syllable if it ends in a consonant, that were published many years ago, long before the diphthong, or in a long vowel. rules for naming families had been adopted and a family name ending in -aceae had been published. This is the ! Commemorative names or patronyms, as they are only example of two equally correct alternatives allowed sometimes called, present a special problem in the Code. These families, with one possible because giving them the proper accenting can exception, are well-known to most of use. Plants in preserve the person’s name or can render it all but these families are commonly encountered and unrecognizable. Hooker and Arnott named a economically important. chenopodiaceous shrub , after , the eminent Harvard botanist. Almost anywhere that THE EIGHT FAMILIES you choose to accent the word, Dr. Gray’s name still comes through. Sunflower Compositae Asteraceae

On the other hand, John Torrey named Pleuraphis Mustard Cruciferae jamesii after Dr. Edwin James, the surgeon-botanist on the Stephen Long Expedition to the Rocky Grass Gramineae Mountains. The epithet jamesii should be pronounced "ja-mee-see-i," which has the Garcinia Guttiferae Clusiaceae unfortunate effect of obscuring its origin. The Mint Labiatae commonly encountered western U. S. pronunciation of "jamz-e-i" preserves it. The rosaceous genus Leguminosae Fabaceae Ivesia is named after Lieutenant Eli Ives, the leader of one of the Pacific railway surveys. Pronouncing Palm Palmae the genus “i-vee-see-i-a” is technically correct, but leads to the same problem. Most American Carrot Umbelliferae botanists tend to ignore the strict rules for accenting patronyms. THE TAXONOMIC HIERARCY ! William Weber (1986) offered three suggestions for American botanists when speaking with our counterparts educated in other countries: (1) Try to A hierarchy is a system of organizing people or things in say the names of the plants as they are being ranks one above the other, often to show status, pronounced by the person you are talking to; (2) authority, or inclusiveness. Common examples include Remember that Europeans pronounce their vowels assistant professor, associate professor, professor or differently than we do; and (3) Try not to distort lieutenant, captain, major, colonel, and general. On the the sounds of words by accenting unimportant campus or in the military an individual moves from one connecting vowels, which he admits flies in the face level to a higher one based on performance reviews. of “the rules.” ______In , we use the term differently. Each of the levels is called a rank and each is comprised of the plants of lower rank. In other words, all of the species of pine trees belong to the genus Pinus. That genus and closely related genera form the family Pinaceae. The ranks recognized by the Code are:

-11- Gleason, H. A. 1947. The preservation of well known or binomials. Phytologia 2: 201-212. Gledhill, D. 2008. The names of plants. Fourth edition. Cambridge Univ. Press. Cambridge, England. 426 pp. Family Genus Green, M. L. 1927. History of plant nomenclature. Kew Species Bull. 1927: 403-415.

Other ranks, such as or , may be Harrison, L. 2012. Latin for gardners: over 3,000 plant intercalated as needed. names explained and explored. Univ. Chicago Press. Chicago, IL. 224 pp. BIBLIOGRAPHY Heller, J. L. 1964. The early history of . Huntia 1(1): 33-70. Bailey, L. H. 1963. How plants get their names. Dover Publ. New York, NY. Hinton, L. 1992. A pinenut by any other name.... News from Native California. Spring: 14, 15. Barnhart, J. H. 1922. Plant nomenclature. J. Bot. 6: 256- 263. Hoogland, R. D. & J. L. Reveal. 1993. family names in current use. Regnum Vegetabile 126: Bartlett, H. H. 1940. History of the generic concept in 15-60. botany. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 67: 349-362. Hunter, M. 1991. Racist relics: an ugly blight on our Boivin, B. 1967. Connecting vowels in epithets of Latin botanical nomenclature. The Scientist Nov: 7. origin. Rhodora 69: 451-455. Hyams, R. & R. Pankhurst. 1995. Plants and their Brickell, C. D. et al. (editor). 2016. International code of names: a concise dictionary. Oxford Univ. Press. Oxford, nomenclature for cultivated plants. Ninth edition. England. 545 pp. International Soc. Horticultural Science. Leuven, Belgium. Johnson, A. J. & H. A. Smith. 1979. Plant names simplified. Landsman Bookshop. London, England. Bullock, A. A. 1958. Gender of generic names. 7: 267, 268. Manara, B. 1991. Some guidelines on the use of gender in generic names and species epithets. Taxon 40: 301- Coombes, A. J. 1985. Dictionary of plant names: the 308. pronunciation, derivation and meaning of botanical names, and their common-name equivalents. Timber Marafioti, R. L. 1970. The meaning of generic names of Press. Portland, OR. 207 pp. important economic plants. Econ. Bot. 24: 189-207.

Coombes, A. J. 2012. The A to Z of plant names: a quick McNeill, J. et al. (editors). 2012. International code of reference guide to 4000 garden plants. Timber Press. nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. Koeltz Portland, OR. 312 pp. Scientific Books. 208 pp.

Copeland, H. F. 1933. Conventions of botanical Neal, B. 1992. Gardener’s Latin. Algonquin Books of nomenclature. Science 78: 333-335. Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill, NC. 136 pp.

st Croft, J. et al. 1999. Plant names for the 21 century: Nicolson, D. H. 1974. 1974. Orthography of names and the International Plant Names Index, a distributed data epithets: stems and compound words. Taxon 23: 163- source of general accessibility. Taxon 48(2): 317-324. 177.

Else, G. F. 1967. The pronunciation of classical names Pavord, A. 2005. The naming of names: the search for and words in English. Classical J. 62: 210-214. order in the world of plants. Bloomsbury. London, U. K. 471 pp. Gleason, H. A. 1932. The pronunciation of botanical names. Torreya 32: 53-58. Stearn, W. T. 1992. Botanical Latin. Fourth edition.

-12- Devon, U. K. 546 pp. [The standard work on the subject and the source of many examples that I have used.]

Wright, J. 2014. The naming of the shre” a curious history of Latin names. Bloomsbury. London, U. K. 303 pp.

Yoon, C. K. 2009. Naming nature: the clash between instinct and science. W. W. Norton, New York, NY. 344 pp.

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