254 A TEXT-BOOK OF GRASSES 
vided there is not already in that genus a species with the 
same name. If the specific name is an adjective its end- 
ing must be changed when necessary to agree in gender 
with the new genus. Thus Panicum frumentaceum becomes 
Echinochloa frumentacea. 
AUTHORS OF NAMES 
277. The student will observe after the name of a 
genus or species, where these are written formally, the 
name of a person either in full or abbreviated. This is 
the name of the author of the genus or species, that is, 
the name of the person first describing the genus or spe- 
cies, or who first applied to these groups the name as it 
stands. For convenience the name of the author is usually 
abbreviated unless it consists of one syllable, or is not 
often used, or unless its abbreviation would be ambiguous. 
A few common abbreviations are given below. The 
name is usually abbreviated to the vowel of the second 
syllable. A few well-known names are further abbreviated. 
Beauv.—Beauvois. 
R. Br.—Robert Brown. 
DC.—De Candolle. 
Ell.—Elhott. 
H.B.K. or HBK.—Humboldt, Bonpland and Kunth. 
L. or Linn.—Linnzus or Linné. 
Michx.—Michaux. 
Muhl.—Muhlenberg. 
Nutt.—Nuttall. 
Torr.—Torrey. 
Walt.—Walter. 
278. Use of parentheses—Recent custom sanctions 
the use of the parentheses to indicate the original author 
of a specific or varietal name. A name written thus, 
