PLANT NOMENCLATURE: SOME SUGGESTIONS 159 



in order to distinguish them from names like Antidesma (formed 

 from to cetrua, bond, chain). This spelling would indicate both 

 derivation and gender. 



Tetrapteris and Heteropteris, being based on irrepvt, wing, not 

 on Trreois, fern, should be written Tetrapteryx and Heteropleryx re- 

 spectively (cf. Dipteryx). 



A glance at Post and Kuntze's Lexicon (1904) is sufficient to 

 demonstrate the need for caution in orthographic correction (Internal*. 

 Rules, Rec. XXX.). Gallicarpa was disguised by these authors as 

 Calocarpus, Aciphylla was changed to AcipliyUcea, and Geissaspis 

 appeared as Q-issaspis. And if Aspicarpa and Ormocarpum should 

 be written Aspicarpus and Ormocarpus, surely Pterocephalus and 

 Dracocephalum should be altered to Pterocephala and Dracocephala 

 respectively, and Cryptocarya should become (Jryptocaryum. And 

 in any case the correct forms would be Aspidocarpus, which happens 

 to be preoccupied, and Dracontocephala. To such alterations there 

 would be no end. 



Correction appears desirable, however, in such cases as the fol- 

 lowing :— tMpipogum should be Epipogon, as the Latin termination 

 ■ran corresponds to the Greek -or, not to -we. Ranunculus acris 

 should be corrected to H. acer (adopted by many continental botanists) ; 

 and Chcerophyllum temulum replaced by C. temulentum. The latter 

 form was used by Linnaeus himself in PI. Suec. ed. 2, 94 (1755). 



11. All trivials should be spelt with a small initial letter. The 

 International Rules recommend (Rec. X.) a capital where the trivial 

 is formed from the name of a person, or is an old generic name, but a 

 considerable expenditure of time is often entailed in ascertaining 

 whether a given name comes under either of these categories. There 

 has been, and still is, so much diversity of usage in regard to a 

 capital initial letter that it is often necessary to investigate the earlv 

 history of a species in order to decide whether the trivial should be 

 spelt with a capital or not. 



A small initial letter is used for all trivials in the following- 

 works : — Hemsley, Bot. "Challenger" and Biol. Centr.-Amer., Bot. ; 

 Contrib. U.S. Nat. Herb. ; Philipp. Journ. Sc. ; Jepson, PI. W. Middle 

 Calif. ; and Stapf, PL Liberia (in Johnston Liberia, ii. 570-669). 



12. The comma between the name and the authority should be 

 omitted. It is omitted in the International Rules, and in a great 

 majority of current botanical periodicals. 



The reasons for the preceding suggestions may be summarized as 

 follows : — 



No. 1 revokes Art. 36, which is not in accordance with the 

 general principles on which the International Rules were explicitly 

 based. Art. 3 states that the rules of nomenclature must be founded 

 on considerations clear and forcible enough for everyone to com- 

 prehend and be disposed to accept. But Art. 36 is highly contro- 

 versial, and was passed by a relatively small majority. 



Nos. 2, 3 and 9 reject names or forms of names which tend to 

 cast ridicule on systematic botany. 



Nos. 3, 4, 6 and 7 reject names which are liable to lead to coll- 

 usion or error. 



