Origins of Generic and Specific Names

  The sources of names are not always indicated in the text accompanying the original description of the taxon. In these circumstances the origin of the name must be inferred from the name itself or extraneous information such as the place and date of collection of the taxon, its preferred habitat, the identity of the collector and economic value of the taxon to name a few possibilities.

  The origins of plant names has long been of interest. For example, Rabelais (1546, Volume 3, Essay 50) writing about Pantagruelion (Cannabis sativa), named in honor of the giant Pantagruel, observed that “all plants come by their names in a variety of ways. First, from the discoverer; second, from the original source; third, in ironic contradiction; fourth, from their effect; fifth, according to their peculiarities; sixth, by remembrance of their metamorphoses, seventh, by similarity; and eight, morphologically”. In reaching these conclusions, Rabelais acknowledges his debt to Pliny, an earlier writer on the subject.

  The number of origins provided below exceeds the eight recognized by Rabelais, largely as a result of subdividing some of his categories. They are as follows:

  Descriptive

  The most valuable names from the viewpoint of information content are those in which both the generic and specific names describe the habit of the plant or one or more of its structures. For example, the name Anthoxanthum odoratum implies that the species is scented with yellow flowers; Neuropoa fax is a grass whose inflorescence resembles a torch with ascending flames; and the leaves of Leptochloa ligulata have a conspicuous ligule.

  However, not all descriptive names are helpful, for many were applied before the full morphological variation in the genus or species was known. Accordingly, many genera have species epithets such as altissimus, which do not apply to the presently known tallest species in the genus but to the tallest known at the time the name was first applied. Furthermore, subdivision of a genus may lead to monospecific taxa with now inappropriate specific epithets. Thus Mibora minima comprises a single species so the contrast that existed between this and other species when the taxon was included in Agrostis has been lost. When Trinius described Panicum uniglumis, relatively few panicoid species were known. With the passage of time, some of the species with laterally compressed spikelets were segregated into their own genera, one of which was Tricholaena in which the lower glume of the spikelet is readily overlooked. With its transfer to Tricholaena, the significance of the single glume in T. uniglumis is lost for the character is shared with all other members of the genus.

  There are many species with names which indicate they resemble other taxa in some respect. Nearly always the significance of such epithets should be interpreted against an historical background. Thus when Trinius described Arundo triodioides in 1836 he accepted a concept of Triodia which is quite different from that held today. Accordingly, when seeking a descriptive interpretation of Poa triodioides (Trinius) Zotov, only scant attention should be given to the present day circumscription of Triodia.

  Commemorative

  Many generic and specific names honor people. The majority of these so honored collected the type species and of the remainder, most honor people with particular claims to distinction. These claims include being other botanists (Danthonia linkii); leaders of expeditions (Triodia mitchellii); statesmen (Digitaria smutsii); politicians (Bambusa moreheadiana); poets (Vossia); wives (Axonopus jeanyae); scientific colleagues (Stipa macalpinei); or the wives of colleagues (Agrostis mackliniae). Origins of Generic and Specific Names

  Habitat

  Habitat has provided a basis for many generic and specific names. Thus all Ammophila taxa grow on sandy seashores and those of Potamophila on stream banks. Amongst species names those descriptive of habitats abound. Included here are the epithets calcarea, desertorum, nivicola and maritima. However, it cannot always be assumed that a name correctly identifies the habitat normally favored by the species. For example, the describing author of Phalaris aquatica was of the opinion the species was associated with wet habitats whereas it commonly occurs in dry-land pastures.

  Geographical Location

  Localities provide a basis for many generic and specific names, often referring to where they were first collected. The precision with which the localities are cited varies according to how the author perceives the name to apply. Thus Linnaeus several times employed the epithet aethiopica for South African species, presumably because Ethiopia in Classical times referred to African countries south of Libya and Egypt. However, his reasons for describing a grass collected by Osbeck in India as Poa chinensis are unclear (Linnaeus 1753).

  National boundaries are subject to change and so that species with the epithet palaestina may not necessarily come from localities included within the boundary of Palestine as presently recognized.

  A somewhat similar situation may arise as when a place retains its name but changes countries. Included here is California, most of which was not incorporated into the United States of America until 1850, nine years after Poa californica had been described. For historical reasons place names may change and so obscure the reason for the choice of species name. For example, the specific epithets zeylanica and ceylanica suggests the species are natives, as they are, of Ceylon, but that country is now known as Sri Lanka. The names Ceylon or its variant spelling Zeylon were applied to the country in Classical Times and used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards. Until the name Australia was coined by Flinders (1814), the continent was widely known as New Holland, a name that became the basis of the widely used species epithet novae-hollandiae.

  Decolonization, especially of Africa, in the mid 20th century, led to many countries changing name but due to the Code the names of species described there-from were retained. One example will suffice to illustrate this situation – species named nyassae and nyassana came from Nyassaland, now known as Malawi.

  Nationality of Taxonomist

  The names of geographic features often differ depending upon the nationality of the taxonomist. Thus the majestic peak dominating central Taiwan is referred to by English writers as Mount Morrison, is known to the Chinese as Yu Shan and the Japanese as Niityakayama. Each of these names has entered into grass nomenclature; Yushania as a genus and morrisonensis together with niitakayamensis as specific names.

  Classical Geographical Names

  Because early taxonomists were familiar with Classical literature they often used Ancient Greek and Latin rather than contemporary names for localities. Such a practice overcomes the problem of locality names changing through the centuries but fails to allow for the redefining of national boundaries with the passage time. Thus, although Cadomum of the Romans corresponds closely with the modern Caen, their Gallia corresponds only roughly with modern France.

  These Classical names should not be confused with Latinized versions of modern names such as novae-hollandiae for New Holland, that is Australia, a country not known to the Romans. Another example is the epithet capitis-york applied to plants from Cape York, thereby generating a hybrid between Latin and English words.

  Homonymy

  The similarity in spelling of geographical names does not necessarily reflect a common origin and may be fortuitous.

  Thus the specific epithet columbiana may refer to taxa from Colombia, a State in South America, the District of Columbia in the United States of America or British Columbia one of the Canadian States. The names of all three of these localities derive from the navigator of the same name and discoverer of the New World. Likewise, grasses with the specific georgiana may come from Georgia, one of the United States of America, or from Georgia a Republic bordering the Black Sea. In both instances the name derives from George, the Christian Saint of that name.

  However, similarity of name does not necessarily indicate a common source, as the epithet gangetica derives from the Ganges Valley in India or from the village of Ganges in southern France.

  The spelling of place names may differ according to the nationality of the taxonomist as with kamerunense and cameroonensis, the former being the German and the latter the English spelling of two species names for separate taxa collected in the Cameroon Mountains of West Africa.

  Seasonality

  All four seasonal names have been employed as species epithets: Agrostis hiemalis flowers in winter, Poa aestivalis in the summer, Eragrostis autumnalis in autumn and Agrostis vernalis in spring.

  Anagrams

  Rearranging the letters of generic names to establish anagrams is a well accepted practice as indicated by the following: Sartidia derived from Aristida; Leymus from Elymus; Tarigidia from Digitaria; Tuctoria from Orcuttia; Tosagris from Agrostis; Miphragtes from Phragmites; Patis from Stipa and Relchela from Lechlera. Rarely a misspelling may inadvertently lead to the formation of an anagram as with Planotia which arose from the transposition of the n and t in Platonia.

  Origins of Generic and Specific Names

  Acronyms

  Few acronyms have been employed as the basis of taxonomic names but more are likely as they abound in modern literature. In recognition of the important role played by the Organisation for the Phyto-Taxonomic Investigation of the Mediterranean Area the epithet optimae was coined for a species of Poa described from material collected in Turkey.

  Allusion

  The origins of names derived from allusion are often obscure and they cannot be appreciated without an understanding of the allusion. Thus Farrago combines the characters of other genera, and the type species Odyssea had previously been placed in several other genera, thereby giving it the reputation of a seasoned traveler. Even more obscure is the origin of the epithet in Panicum diluta where doubts as to the reality of the species “dissolved” when further specimens were collected. In anticlerical France, following the Revolution of 1789–1799, a grass was named Avena precatoria because its nodding spikelets suggested to the author the bowed heads of worshippers.

  Geography and allusion sometimes combine, as for example in the epithet ursorum, of the bears, which has been applied to several Arctic species because they come from the “Land of the Bears”.

  Finally, unless one knew that Lord Talbot of Malahide was Irish, a people regarded traditionally as lucky, there would be no sense in the species name fortunae-hibernae, which was applied to a grass that arrived accidentally in England, having been raised from seed in soil attached to plants sent from Tasmania by Lord Talbot to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

  Hybridity

  To indicate that hybrids between species are from different genera, it is customary to coin for them a new generic name based on those of the parents. For example ×Cynochloris (sometimes written xCynochloris) is the generic name for interspecific hybrids between Cynodon and Chloris. The multiplication symbol (×) or the letter x before the name indicates the taxon is of known or presumed hybrid origin.

  Occupations

  A few names including metatoris and geometra derive from the occupation of the collectors, in these instances surveying.

  Vessels

  In a few instances, names have been given to commemorate the vessel in which scientific expeditions have been undertaken. Accordingly, utowanaeum is derived from Utowana, the name of a steam yacht made available to the Field Museum of Chicago to transport scientists around the Caribbean, and nascopieana commemorates the R.M.S. Nascopie, a Canadian Navy vessel, which sailed regularly in Arctic waters.