Ex. 1. Retention of original spelling: The generic names
Mesembryanthemum L. (1753) and Amaranthus L. (1753) were deliberately so spelled by Linnaeus and the spelling is not to be altered to
"Mesembrianthemum" and "Amarantus", respectively, although these latter forms are philologically preferable (see Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1928: 113, 287. 1928). -
Phoradendron Nutt. (1848) is not to be altered to "Phoradendrum". -
Triaspis mozambica A. Juss. (1843) is not to be altered to "T. mossambica", as in Engler (Pflanzenw. Ost-Afrikas C: 232. 1895). -
Alyxia ceylanica Wight (1848) is not to be altered to "A. zeylanica", as in Trimen (Handb. Fl. Ceylon 3: 127. 1895). -
Fagus sylvatica L. (1753) is not to be altered to "F. silvatica". The classical spelling
silvatica is recommended for adoption in the case of a new name (Rec. 60E), but the mediaeval spelling
sylvatica is not an orthographical error. - Scirpus cespitosus L. (1753) is not to be altered to
"S. caespitosus".
*Ex. 2. Typographical errors: Globba "brachycarpa"
Baker (1890) and Hetaeria "alba" Ridl. (1896) are typographical errors for
Globba trachycarpa Baker and Hetaeria alta Ridl., respectively (see J. Bot. 59: 349. 1921).
Ex. 3. The misspelled Indigofera "longipednnculata" Y. Y. Fang & C. Z. Zheng (1983) is presumably a typographical error and is to be corrected to
I. longipedunculata.
*Ex. 4. Orthographical error: Gluta "benghas" L. (1771), being an orthographical error for
G. renghas, is cited as G. renghas L. (see Engler in Candolle & Candolle, Monogr. Phan. 4: 225. 1883); the vernacular name used as a specific epithet by Linnaeus is "renghas", not "benghas".
Note 1. Art. 14.11 provides for the conservation of an altered spelling of a name of a family, genus, or species.
Ex. 5. Bougainvillea (see App.
IIIA,
Spermatophyta, Dicotyledones).
60.2. The words "original spelling" in this Article mean the spelling employed when the name was validly published. They do not refer to the use of an initial capital or lower-case letter, this being a matter of typography (see
Art. 20.1 and 21.2, Rec. 60F).
60.3. The liberty of correcting a name is to be used with reserve, especially if the change affects the first syllable and, above all, the first letter of the name.
*Ex. 6. The spelling of the generic name Lespedeza Michx. (1803) is not to be altered, although it commemorates Vicente Manuel de Céspedes (see Rhodora 36: 130-132, 390-392. 1934). -
Cereus jamacaru DC. (1828) may not be altered to C. "mandacaru", even if
jamacaru is believed to be a corruption of the vernacular name "mandacaru".
60.4. The letters w and y, foreign to classical Latin, and
k, rare in that language, are permissible in Latin plant names. Other letters and ligatures foreign to classical Latin that may appear in Latin plant names, such as the German
ß (double s), are to be transcribed.
60.5. When a name has been published in a work where the letters
u, v or i, j are used interchangeably or in any other way incompatible with modern practices (e.g., one letter of a pair not being used in capitals, or not at all), those letters are to be transcribed in conformity with modern botanical usage.
Ex. 7. Uffenbachia Fabr. (1763), not
"Vffenbachia"; Taraxacum Zinn (1757), not "Taraxacvm"; Curculigo Gaertn. (1788), not
"Cvrcvligo".
Ex. 8. "Geastrvm hygrometricvm" and
"Vredo pvstvlata" of Persoon (1801) are written, respectively, Geastrum hygrometricum Pers. and
Uredo pustulata Pers.
60.6. Diacritical signs are not used in Latin plant names. In names (either new or old) drawn from words in which such signs appear, the signs are to be suppressed with the necessary transcription of the letters so modified; for example
ä, ö, ü become, respectively, ae, oe, ue; é, è, ê become e, or sometimes
ae; ñ becomes n; ø becomes oe; å becomes
ao. The diaeresis, indicating that a vowel is to be pronounced separately from the preceding vowel (as in
Cephaëlis, Isoëtes), is permissible; the ligatures -æ- and -œ-, indicating that the letters are pronounced together, are to be replaced by the separate letters
-ae- and -oe-.
60.7. When changes in spelling by authors who adopt personal, geographic, or vernacular names in nomenclature are intentional latinizations, they are to be preserved, except when they concern only the termination of epithets to which Art. 60.11 applies.
Ex. 9. Clutia L. (1753), Gleditsia L. (1753), and
Valantia L. (1753), commemorating Cluyt, Gleditsch, and Vaillant, respectively, are not to be altered
to"Cluytia", "Gleditschia", and"Vaillantia"; Linnaeus latinized the names of these botanists deliberately as Clutius, Gleditsius, and Valantius.
Ex. 10. Abutilon glaziovii K. Schum. (1891),
Desmodium bigelovii A. Gray (1843), and Rhododendron bureavii Franch. (1887), commemorating A. F. M. Glaziou, J. Bigelow, and L. E. Bureau, respectively, are not to be changed to
A. "glazioui", D. "bigelowii", or R. "bureaui". In these three cases, the implicit latinizations Glaziovius, Bigelovius, and Bureavius do not affect merely the termination of the names.
Ex. 11. Blandfordia "backhousii", Cephalotaxus "fortuni", Chenopodium "loureirei", Convolvulus "loureiri", Glochidion "melvilliorum", and
Zygophyllum "billardierii" were published to commemorate J. Backhouse, R. Fortune, J. de Loureiro, R. Melville and E. F. Melville, and J. J. H. de Labillardière (de la Billardière). The implicit latinizations are Backhousius, Fortunus, Loureirus or Loureireus, Melvillius, and Billardierius, but they affect only the termination and are not acceptable under Art. 60.11. The names are correctly cited as
B. backhousei Gunn & Lindl. (1845), Cephalotaxus fortunei Hook. (1850),
Chenopodium loureiroi Steud. (1840), Convolvulus loureiroi G. Don (1836),
G. melvilleorum Airy Shaw (1971), and Z. billardierei DC. (1824).
Ex. 12. Abies alcoquiana Veitch ex Lindl. (1861), commemorating "Rutherford Alcock Esq.", implies an intentional latinization of that name to Alcoquius. In transferring the epithet to
Picea, Carrière (1867) deliberately changed the spelling to "alcockiana". The resulting combination is nevertheless correctly cited as
P. alcoquiana (Veitch ex Lindl.) Carrière (see Art.
61.4).
60.8. The use of a compounding form contrary to Rec. 60G in an adjectival epithet is treated as an error to be corrected.
Ex. 13. Candolle's Pereskia "opuntiaeflora" is to be cited as
P. opuntiiflora DC. (1828), and Myrosma "cannaefolia" of the younger Linnaeus, as
M. cannifolia L. f. (1782).
Ex. 14. Cacalia "napeaefolia" and Senecio
"napeaefolius" are to be cited as Cacalia napaeifolia DC. (1838) and
Senecio napaeifolius (DC.) Sch. Bip. (1845), respectively; the specific epithet refers to the resemblance of the leaves to those of the genus
Napaea L. (not "Napea"), and the substitute (connecting) vowel
-i should have been used instead of the genitive singular inflection -ae.
Ex. 15. However, in Andromeda polifolia L. (1753), the epithet is a pre-Linnean plant name
("Polifolia" of Buxbaum) used in apposition and not an adjective; it is not to be altered to
"poliifolia" (Polium-leaved).
60.9. The use of a hyphen in a compound epithet is treated as an error to be corrected by deletion of the hyphen, unless the epithet is formed of words that usually stand independently or the letters before and after the hyphen are the same, when a hyphen is permitted (see
Art. 23.1 and 23.3).
Ex. 16. Hyphen to be omitted: Acer pseudoplatanus L. (1753), not
A. "pseudo-platanus"; Eugenia costaricensis O. Berg, not E.
"costa-ricensis"; Ficus neoëbudarum Summerh. (1932), not F. "neo-ebudarum"; Lycoperdon atropurpureum Vittad. (1842), not
L. "atro-purpureum"; Croton ciliatoglandulifer Ortega (1797), not C. "ciliato-glandulifer"; Scirpus sect.
Pseudoëriophorum Jurtzev (in Bjull. Moskovsk. Obšc. Isp. Prir., Otd. Biol. 70(1): 132. 1965), not
S. sect. "Pseudo-eriophorum".
Ex. 17. Hyphen to be maintained: Aster novae-angliae L. (1753),
Coix lacryma-jobi L. (1753), Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng. (1825),
Veronica anagallis-aquatica L. (1753; Art.
23.3), Athyrium austro-occidentale Ching (1986).
Note 2. Art. 60.9 refers only to epithets (in combinations), not to names of genera or taxa in higher ranks; a generic name published with a hyphen can be changed only by conservation
(Art. 14.11).
Ex. 18. Pseudo-salvinia Piton (1940) may not be changed to
"Pseudosalvinia"; "Pseudo-elephantopus" was changed by conservation to Pseudelephantopus Rohr (1792).
60.10. The use of an apostrophe in an epithet is treated as an error to be corrected by deletion of the apostrophe.
Ex. 19. Lycium "o'donellii", Cymbidium "i'ansoni"
and Solanum tuberosum var. "muru'kewillu" are to be corrected to
L. odonellii F. A. Barkley (1953), C. iansonii Rolfe (1900) and S. tuberosum var.
murukewillu Ochoa (in Phytologia 65: 112. 1988), respectively.
60.11. The use of a termination (for example
-i, -ii, -ae, -iae, -anus, or -ianus) contrary to Rec. 60C.1 (but not 60C.2) is treated as an error to be corrected (see also
Art. 32.5).
Ex. 20. Rosa "pissarti" (Carrière in Rev. Hort. 1880: 314. 1880) is a typographical error for
R. "pissardi" (see Rev. Hort. 1881: 190. 1881), which in its turn is treated as an error for
R. pissardii Carrière (see Rec. 60C.1(b)).
Ex. 21. However, Uladendron codesuri Marc.-Berti (1971) is not to be changed to
U. "codesurii" (as by Brenan in Index Kew., Suppl. 16. 1981), since the epithet does not commemorate a person but derives from an acronym (CODESUR, Comisión para el Desarrollo del Sur de Venezuela).
Ex. 22. Asparagus tamaboki Yatabe (1893) bears the Japanese vernacular name "tamaboki" as its epithet and is therefore not correctable to
A. "tamabokii".
Note 3. If the gender and/or number of a substantival epithet derived from a personal name is inappropriate for the sex and/or number of the person(s) whom the name commemorates, the termination is to be corrected in conformity with Rec. 60C.1.
Ex. 23. Rosa ×"toddii" was named by Wolley-Dod (in J. Bot. 69, Suppl.: 106. 1931) for "Miss E. S. Todd"; the name is to be corrected to
R. ×toddiae Wolley-Dod.
Ex. 24. Astragalus "matthewsii", published by Podlech and Kirchhoff (in Mitt. Bot. Staatssamml. München 11: 432. 1974) to commemorate Victoria A. Matthews, is to be corrected to
A. matthewsiae Podlech & Kirchhoff; it is not therefore a later homonym of
A. matthewsii S. Watson (1883) (see Agerer-Kirchhoff & Podlech in Mitt. Bot. Staatssamml. München 12: 375. 1976).
Ex. 25. Codium "geppii" (Schmidt in Biblioth. Bot. 91: 50. 1923), which commemorates "A. & E. S. Gepp", is to be corrected to
C. geppiorum O. C. Schmidt.
60.12. Epithets of fungus names derived from the generic name of an associated organism are to be spelled in accordance with the accepted spelling of that organism's name; other spellings are regarded as orthographical variants to be corrected (see
Art. 61).
Ex. 26. Phyllachora "anonicola" (Chardon in Mycologia 32: 190. 1940) is to be altered to
P. annonicola Chardon, since the spelling Annona is now accepted in preference to
"Anona". - Meliola "albizziae" (Hansford & Deighton in Mycol. Pap. 23: 26. 1948) is to be altered to
M. albiziae Hansf. & Deighton, since the spelling Albizia is now accepted in preference to
"Albizzia".
Recommendation 60A
60A.1. When a new name or its epithet is to be derived from Greek, the transliteration to Latin should conform to classical usage.
60A.2. The spiritus asper should be transcribed in Latin as the letter
h.
Recommendation 60B
60B.1. When a new generic name, or subgeneric or sectional epithet, is taken from the name of a person, it should be formed as follows:
|
(a) |
When the name of the person ends with a vowel, the letter -a is added (thus Ottoa after Otto; Sloanea after Sloane), except when the name ends with -a, when -ea is added (e.g. Collaea after Colla), or with -ea (as Correa), when no letter is added. |
|
(b) |
When the name of the person ends with a consonant, the letters -ia are added, but when the name ends with -er, either of the terminations -ia and -a is appropriate (e.g. Sesleria after Sesler and Kernera after Kerner). |
|
(c) |
In latinized personal names ending with -us this termination is dropped (e.g. Dillenia after Dillenius) before applying the procedure described under (a) and (b). |
Note 1. The syllables not modified by these endings retain their original spelling (Art. 60.1), unless they contain letters foreign to Latin plant names or diacritical signs (see Art. 60.6).
Note 2. Names may be accompanied by a prefix or a suffix, or be modified by anagram or abbreviation. In these cases they count as different words from the original name.
Ex. 1. Durvillaea Bory (1826) and Urvillea Kunth (1821);
Lapeirousia Pourr. (1788) and Peyrousea DC. (1838); Engleria O. Hoffm. (1888),
Englerastrum Briq. (1894), and Englerella Pierre (1891); Bouchea Cham. (1832) and
Ubochea Baill. (1891); Gerardia L. (1753) and Graderia Benth. (1846);
Martia Spreng. (1818) and Martiusia Schult. & Schult. f. (1822).
Recommendation 60C
60C.1. Personal names may be given Latin terminations and used to form specific and infraspecific epithets as follows (but see Rec. 60C.2):
|
(a) |
If the personal name ends with a vowel or -er, substantival epithets are formed by adding the genitive inflection appropriate to the sex and number of the person(s) honoured (e.g., scopoli-i for Scopoli (m), fedtschenko-i for Fedtschenko (m), fedtschenko-ae for Fedtschenko (f), glaziou-i for Glaziou (m), lace-ae for Lace (f), gray-i for Gray (m), hooker-orum for the Hookers (m), except when the name ends with -a, in which case adding -e (singular) or -rum (plural) is appropriate (e.g. triana-e for Triana (m), pojarkova-e for Pojarkova (f), orlovskaja-e for Orlovskaja (f)). |
|
(b) |
If the personal name ends with a consonant (except -er), substantival epithets are formed by adding -i- (stem augmentation) plus the genitive inflection appropriate to the sex and number of the person(s) honoured (e.g. lecard-ii for Lecard (m), wilson-iae for Wilson (f), verlot-iorum for the Verlot brothers, braun-iarum for the Braun sisters, mason-iorum for Mason, father and daughter). |
|
(c) |
If the personal name ends with a vowel, adjectival epithets are formed by adding -an- plus the nominative singular inflection appropriate to the gender of the generic name (e.g., Cyperus heyne-anus for Heyne, Vanda lindley-ana for Lindley, Aspidium bertero-anum for Bertero), except when the personal name ends with -a in which case -n- plus the appropriate inflection is added (e.g. balansa-nus (m), balansa-na (f), and balansa-num (n) for Balansa). |
|
(d) |
If the personal name ends with a consonant, adjectival epithets are formed by adding -i- (stem augmentation) plus -an- (stem of adjectival suffix) plus the nominative singular inflection appropriate to the gender of the generic name (e.g. Rosa webb-iana for Webb, Desmodium griffith-ianum for Griffith, Verbena hassler-iana for Hassler). |
Note 1. The hyphens in the above examples are used only to set off the total appropriate termination.
60C.2. Personal names already in Greek or Latin, or possessing a well-established latinized form, should be given their appropriate Latin genitive to form substantival epithets (e.g.
alexandri from Alexander or Alexandre, augusti from Augustus or August or Auguste,
martini from Martinus or Martin, linnaei from Linnaeus, martii from Martius,
wislizeni from Wislizenus, edithae from Editha or Edith, elisabethae from Elisabetha or Elisabeth,
murielae from Muriela or Muriel, conceptionis from Conceptio or Concepción,
beatricis from Beatrix or Béatrice, hectoris from Hector; but not
"cami" from Edmond Camus or Aimée Camus). Treating modern family names as if they were in third declension should be avoided (e.g.
munronis from Munro, richardsonis from Richardson).
60C.3. In forming new epithets based on personal names the customary spelling of the personal name should not be modified unless it contains letters foreign to Latin plant names or diacritical signs (see Art. 60.4 and 60.6).
60C.4. Prefixes and particles ought to be treated as follows:
|
(a) |
The Scottish patronymic prefix "Mac", "Mc" or "M'", meaning "son of", should be spelled "mac" and united with the rest of the name (e.g. macfadyenii after Macfadyen, macgillivrayi after MacGillivray, macnabii after McNab, mackenii after M'Ken). |
|
(b) |
The Irish patronymic prefix "O" should be united with the rest of the name or omitted (e.g. obrienii, brienianus after O'Brien, okellyi after O'Kelly). |
|
(c) |
A prefix consisting of an article (e.g. le, la, l', les, el, il, lo), or containing an article (e.g. du, de la, des, del, della), should be united to the name (e.g. leclercii after Le Clerc, dubuyssonii after DuBuysson, lafarinae after La Farina, logatoi after Lo Gato). |
|
(d) |
A prefix to a family name indicating ennoblement or canonization should be omitted (e.g. candollei after de Candolle, jussieui after de Jussieu, hilairei after Saint-Hilaire, remyi after St. Rémy); in geographical epithets, however, "St." is rendered as sanctus (m) or sancta (f) (e.g. sancti-johannis, of St. John, sanctae-helenae, of St. Helena). |
|
(e) |
A German or Dutch prefix should be omitted (e.g. iheringii after von Ihering, martii after von Martius, steenisii after van Steenis, strassenii after zu Strassen, vechtii after van der Vecht), but when it is normally treated as part of the family name it should be included in the epithet (e.g. vonhausenii after Vonhausen, vanderhoekii after Vanderhoek, vanbruntiae after Van Brunt). |
Recommendation 60D
60D.1. An epithet derived from a geographical name is preferably an adjective and usually takes the termination
-ensis, -(a)nus, -inus, or -icus.
Ex. 1. Rubus quebecensis L. H. Bailey (from Quebec),
Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch (from Virginia), Eryngium amorginum Rech. f. (from Amorgos),
Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh. (from Pennsylvania).
Recommendation 60E
60E.1. The epithet in a new name should be written in conformity with the customary spelling of the word or words from which it is derived and in accordance with the accepted usage of Latin and latinization (see also
Art. 23.5).
Ex. 1. sinensis (not chinensis).
Recommendation 60F
60F.1. All specific and infraspecific epithets should be written with an initial lower-case letter, although authors desiring to use initial capital letters may do so when the epithets are directly derived from the names of persons (whether actual or mythical), or are vernacular (or non-Latin) names, or are former generic names.
Recommendation 60G
60G.1. A compound name or an epithet which combines elements derived from two or more Greek or Latin words should be formed, as far as practicable, in accordance with classical usage. This may be stated as follows (see also Note 1):
|
(a) |
In a regular compound, a noun or adjective in non-final position appears as a compounding form generally obtained by |
|
(1) |
removing the case ending of the genitive singular (Latin -ae, -i, -us, -is; Greek -os, -es, -as, -ous and the latter's equivalent -eos) and |
|
|
(2) |
before a consonant, adding a connecting vowel (-i- for Latin elements, -o- for Greek elements). |
|
|
(3) |
Exceptions are common, and one should review earlier usages of a particular compounding form. |
|
(b) |
In a pseudocompound, a noun or adjective in a non-final position appears as a word with a case ending, not as a modified stem. Examples are: nidus-avis (nest of bird), Myos-otis (ear of mouse), albo-marginatus (margined with white), etc. In epithets where tingeing is expressed, the modifying initial colour often is in the ablative because the preposition e, ex, is implicit, e.g., atropurpureus (blackish purple) from ex atro purpureus (purple tinged with black). Others have been deliberately introduced to reveal etymological differences when different word elements have the same compounding forms, such as tubi- from tube (tubus, tubi) or from trumpet (tuba, tubae) where tubaeflorus can only mean trumpet-flowered; also carici- is the compounding form from both papaya (carica, caricae) and sedge (carex, caricis) where caricaefolius can only mean papaya-leaved. The latter use of the genitive singular of the first declension for pseudocompounding is treated as an error to be corrected unless it makes an etymological distinction (see Art. 60.8). |
Note 1. In forming some other apparently irregular compounds, classical usage is commonly followed.
Ex. 1. The compounding forms hydro- and
hydr- (Hydro-phyllum) stem from water (hydor, hydatos); calli-
(Calli-stemon) derive from the adjective beautiful (kalos); and meli-
(Meli-osma, Meli-lotus) stem from honey (mel, melitos).
Note 2. The hyphens in the above examples are given solely for explanatory reasons. For the use of hyphens in generic names and in epithets see
Art. 20.3, 23.1, and 60.9.
Recommendation 60H
60H.1. The etymology of new names or of epithets in new names should be given, especially when their meaning is not obvious.
Title |
Subject index | Index to scientific names
| Contact | Regnum Vegetabile
(c) by International Association for Plant Taxonomy. This page last updated Feb. 12, 2001.