The Names Of Plants.pdf

The Names of Plants
to names ending with -a is added
-nus when masculine
-na when feminine
-num when neuter
to names ending with a consonant is added
-ianus when masculine
-iana when feminine
-ianum when neuter
Geographical epithets
When an epithet is derived from the name of a place, usually to indicate the plant’s
native area but also, sometimes, to indicate the area or place from which the plant
was first known or in which it was produced horticulturally, it is preferably adjectival
and takes one of the following endings:
-ensis (m) -ensis (f) -ense (n)
-(a)nus (m) -(a)na (f) -(a)num (n)
-inus (m) -ina (f) -inum (n)
-icus (m) -ica (f) -icum (n)
Geographical epithets are sometimes inaccurate because the author of the name
was in error as to the true origin of the plant, or obscure because the ancient classical
names are no longer familiar to us. As with epithets which are derived from proper
names to commemorate people, or from former generic names or vernacular names
which are treated as being Latin, it is now customary to start them with a small initial
letter but it remains permissible to give them a capital initial.
Categories below the rank of species
The subdivision of a species group is based upon a concept of infraspecific variation
which assumes that, in nature, evolutionary changes are progressive fragmentations
of the parent species. Put in another way, a species, or any taxon of lower rank,
is a closed grouping whose limits embrace all their lower-ranked variants (subordinate
taxa). It will be seen later that a different concept underlies the naming of
cultivated plants which does not make such an assumption but recognizes the possibility
that cultivars may straddle species, or other, boundaries or overlap each
other, or be totally contained, one by another.
The rules by which botanical infraspecific taxa are named specify that the name
shall consist of the name of the parent species followed by a term which denotes the
rank of the subdivision, and an epithet which is formed in the same ways as specific
epithets, including grammatical agreement when adjectival. Such names are subject
to the rules of priority and typification. The ranks concerned are subspecies (abbreviated
to subsp. or ssp.), varietas (variety in English, abbreviated to var.), subvarietas
(subvariety or subvar.), forma (form or f.). These form a hierarchy, and further subdivisions
are permitted, but the Code does not define the characteristics of any rank
within the hierarchy. Consequently, infraspecific classification is subjective.
When a subdivision of a species is named, which does not include the nomenclatural
type of the species, it automatically establishes the name of the equivalent subdivision
which does contain that type. Such a name is an ‘autonym’ and has the
same epithet as the species itself but is not attributed to an author. This is the only
event which permits the repetition of the specific epithet and the only permissible
way of indicating that the taxon includes the type for the species name. The same
constraints apply to subdivisions of lower ranks. For example, Veronica hybrida L.
was deemed by E. F. Warburg to be a component of Veronica spicata L. and he named
it V. spicata L. subsp. hybrida (L.) E. F. Warburg. This implies the existence of a typical
subspecies, the autonym for which is V. spicata L. subsp. spicata.
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