Legends for the Synonj'niy 



Symbol (Garrison-Skovlin-Poulton System) 

 Basic five-letter symbols, consisting of the first five letters, 

 are used for the generic name. If the name has fewer than 

 five letters, "-)-" signs are added to make a five-letter 

 symbol. For example, for fir trees, Abies, the symbol is 

 ABIES; for wheatgrasses, Agropyron, the symbol is 

 AGROP; for bluegrasses, Poa, the symbol is POA-I- -|-; 

 and for maples, Acer, the symbol is ACER + . 

 Tiebreakers are added to the basic five-letter symbol if 

 needed. For example, the symbol CHRYS is the first five 

 letters of several genera — Chrysopsis. Chrysopogon. 

 Chrysoihamnus, and Chrysanthemum. The genus symbol 

 for the first one is CHRYS and for the others CHRYS2, 

 CHRYS3, and CHRYS4. 



The symbol for a species is the first two letters of the genus 

 and the first two of the species. For example, the symbol 

 for Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pralensis, is POPR. All other 

 plants having the same four-letter symbol have tiebreakers 

 in numeric sequence, starting with 2. Examples: POPR2, 

 POPR3, and so forth. 



For varieties or subspecies, the first letter of the variety in a 

 trinomial or quadrinomial or of the subspecies in a trinomial 

 is added to the basic four-letter plant name symbol. 

 Example: Piniis ponderosa variety arizonica has the five- 

 letter symbol PIPOA. 



Synonym 



The synonyms listed are almost always accepted names. 

 Several symbols are sed to clarify further the relationship 

 of plant names and their synonyms. 



# — Our consultants determined that the names had the 

 same type (the specimen on which the original 

 description and name of a taxon have been based). 

 ( — The name above this symbol has a type that is 



included in the description of the following name. A 

 name preceding this sign cannot be an accepted name. 

 ) — The description for the name above the symbol 

 includes the type of the name after the sign. 

 = — The two names linked by this symbol have been used 

 for the same plant by at least one source. If the name 

 is used correctly and we know it, the # sign will be 

 used. 

 > — One or more sources have used the name above the 

 sign to include plants covered by other sources' 

 descriptions for the name following the sign. 

 < — Plants covered by the description of the plant name 

 above the sign have been included in the description 

 of the name after the sign by one or more sources. 

 N — Some sources or consultants believe the name above 



the sign has been misapplied to the name after it. 

 * — The two names have been used for the same plant, 

 but our consultants could not determine if another 

 sign could be substituted. 



Genus/Species 



The species is indented below the genus, and the infraspecies 

 name below the species. If the infraspecies is a subspecies, 

 the letter S precedes it. If a variety is assigned to a sub- 

 species, its position in the list reflects that assignment. The 

 letter X precedes the name of a hybrid taxon. Thus, X 

 AGROELYMUS is a hybrid genus, and "X STELLOIDES" 

 is a hybrid species under the genus QUERCUS. Under 

 Eriophorum is the species angustifoliuin; under the species 

 is the subspecies subarticum; and under subanicum is the 

 variety coloraium. So the full name is the quadrinomial, 

 Eriophorum angustifolium ssp. subarticum var. coloraium. 



Occasionally, more than one synonym appears with one or 

 more of the above symbols. The synonyms are accepted, 

 but the plant specimen could be either of the accepted 

 names. 



Author 



An asterisk following an author means that the Smithsonian 

 Institution studied the original description fully enough to 

 confirm that it is accurately cited and that it complies with 

 the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (1978, 

 International Association for Plant Taxonomy, Utrecht, 

 Netherlands). 



