For May, 1920 



185 



Plant Names in the Catalogs' 



FRANK B. MEYER 



ACCL'RACY and consistency are not indispensable 

 to success in the handling of plants : but they are 

 an evidence of culture and of careful and orderly 

 habits. For this reason they are very desirable. 



There is fortunately already in existence an excellent 

 work that ought generally to be recognized as the stand- 

 ard. Reference is made to Bailey's Cyclopedia of Horti- 

 culture. Apparent contradictions made to it here are 

 prolTered modestlv. There would be no desire, even if it 

 were at all possible, to forestall any action of the Ameri- 

 can Joint Committee on Horticultural Nomenclature 

 already at work. The object is rather to make a few 

 summary statements that may serve for the present and 

 to correct some prevalent errors. 



The ideal catalog would list, under diti'erent heads like 

 Evergreen Trees, Evergreen Shrubs, Deciduous Shrubs, 

 etc., in alphabetical order, the botanical names followed 

 in each instance by the common or popular name or 

 names. 



In botany and in other sciences names of (jreek and 

 Latin origin, and preserving the forms of these languages, 

 are employed for two reasons. In the first place, they 

 afford greater accuracy and uniformity than do the com- 

 mon names. One and the same plant, for e.xample, may 

 have various names in different parts of the same coun- 

 try, or the name applied to a certain plant or to a certain 

 variety of a plant may sometimes be found in use for a 

 different plant or for a different variety in some other 

 region. The second reason is that these two languages, 

 after having served long as the sole languages of learn- 

 ing, now furnish a vocabulary that is understood and ac- 

 cepted all over the world. 



The greatest difficulties in the handling of these names 

 come from the inflectional forms. The ancients, in their 

 childlike way of looking at things, personified them. In 

 general, all objects that were beautiful or graceful or in 

 any way suggestive of femininity, like most trees and 

 flowers and one's nurturing country, were regarded as 

 feminine. Strength, such as is possessed by a mountain 

 or by a stream in a mountainous coimtry, suggested mas- 

 culinity. The conception of some things as neuter, that 

 is, as neither male nor female, arose late. In certain 

 instances, however, it is impossible to penetrate into the 

 ancient mind and to discover just why a certain gender 

 was assigned to a particular object. 



In becoming annexed to a noun the adjective must 

 show by its ending the gender of the noun. The follow'- 

 ing table displays the possible endings for adjectives, the 

 endings being printed in heavv type. These are the 

 endings of the adjectives in Latin, to which those of the 

 Greek are reduced. 



Masculine 



li uigipedes 



Feminine 



longipedes 

 majores 



Neuter 



PI. 



Masculine 



scabii.isus 



ruber 



bicolor* 



canadensis 



elegans 



longipes 



major 



scabiosi 



rubri 



bicolores 



canadenses 



elegantes 



Feminine 



scabiosa 



rubra 



bicolor 



canadensis 



elegans 



longipes 



major 



scabiosre 



rubrae 



bicnlfires 



canadenses 



elegantes 



Neuter 



scahidsum 



nibrum 



bicolor 



canadense 



elegans 



Inngipes 



maius 



scabiosa 



rubra 



bicolora 



canadensia 



clegantia 



longipenia 

 majores majores majora 



Ftir this, and for coiicolor and discolor, the alternative forms in 

 'Colorus. -colora and -colorum are rare in Latin literature, and late, and 

 should therefore not be used to-day. 



These endings must not be used indiscriminately; 

 the adjecti\e must always conform in gender, and in 

 number, to the noun. Acer rubrum and Acer pyrami- 

 dale, for example, are correct forms, for Acer is neuter. 



This noun Acer, probably because it was introduced 

 late, has come down as a neuter, in spite of an eminent 

 grammarian's attempt made long ago to establish it 

 as a feminine in accordance with the general rule for 

 gender stated above. This rule usually prevails over 

 the grammar's practice of regarding all names ending 

 in a as feminine. — like I'aeonia; all in us as mascu- 

 line, — like Philadelphus : all in um as neuter, — like 

 Laburnum. 



The most important ])lant names that are now- 

 recognized as neuter are, in addition to all ending 

 in um, ur in on (except Erigeron) which is the Greek 

 equivalent for the Latin um, Acer, Sassafras, Acan- 

 thopana.x. Benzoin, Ribes, JMuscari (originally Mus- 

 carium), Aethionema, Arisaema, Papaver, and Cycla- 

 men. These each take an adjective ending in um, not 

 us or er or a : in e. not is; in us (as of majus), not or; 

 or may take an adjective like bicolor or like longipes. 



Those that are treated as masculine are Calycanthus, 

 Ceanothus. Cephalanthus, Cytisus (common gender, 

 i. e.. sometimes, regarded as masculine and sometimes 

 as feminine), Opulaster, Philadelphus, Rhus (commtjn 

 gender"), Rubus, Symphoricarpus. Sipho, all names of 

 perennials ending with anthus, Echinocereus, Echinops 

 I common gender). Eremurus. Erigeron, Helleborus. 

 F'entstemon, Ranunculus, Thymus. Trollius, Narcis- 

 sus, Crocus, Gladiolus, Hermodactylus and Hyacin- 

 thus. For each of these the adjective must end in us, 

 not a or um; or, not us as in majus; ns or es. 



The names of the other more familiar plants are 

 feminine and for them adjectives must end in a, nnt us 

 or um; is, not e; or, not us as in majus; ns or es. 



\\'hen, in a compound name, the second word is in 

 apparent contradiction to the above rules it may be a 

 noun, as in Viburnum Opulus. In that case it should 

 be printed in the list with an initial capital letter. 

 .Adjecti\'es that stand after these should agree in 

 gender with the main part of the name. Additional 

 words of this kind are Tanyosho, jMughus, Laricio, 

 .Strobus, Cotinus, Caractacus, Hinayo, Agnus-castus. 

 Cneorum, L^\'a-ursi, Mezereum. Ibota, Coco, Lantana. 

 Lentago. 



.\fter the type name there is often found for a 

 \ariety the name of the man who introduced it or in 

 whose honor it has been named as in Spiraea Billiardii 

 and S. Ihimalda .\nthony Watereri, the i being the 

 Latin equivalent for the English of or 's. The addition 

 of ii instead of i is sometimes a matter of preference 

 depending upon euphony. But there is good historical 

 warrant for always using only one i. This would 

 simplify the matter. Of some names of men are found 

 adjectival forms as in Chamsecyparis Lawsoniana and 

 Iuni])erus .Sabina ; but the prevailing custom is to spell 

 an adjective derived from the name of a countrv or 

 other place with a small initial letter, as in virginiana 

 and jajjonica. 



