194 SYSTEMATIC BOTANY. 



anist, or patron of botany, to whom the genus is thus 

 said to be dedicated. Also the ancient classic names, 

 either Latin or Greek, are often retained. Examples of 

 all these modes of construction will be seen hereafter. 



500. Specific Names are usually Latin adjectives, 

 singular, and agreeing in gender with the name of the 

 genus to which they belong. They are mostly founded 

 upon some distinctive character of the species ; as, Viola 

 blanda, Sweet-scented Violet ; V. cucullata, Hood-leaved 

 Violet. Frequently the species is named after some 

 other genus, which, in some respect, it resembles ; as, 

 Viola delphinifolia, Larkspur Violet. 



501. Commemorative Specific Names. SPECIES, like 

 genera, are also sometimes named in commemoration 

 of distinguished persons. The rules given by Lindley, 

 for the construction of such names, are : 1 st. If the 

 person is the discoverer, the specific name is a sub- 

 stantive in the genitive case, singular number; as, 

 Viola Selkirkiij Selkirk's Violet ; Lobelia Kalmii, 

 Kalm's Lobelia. 2d. If the name is merely conferred 

 in honor of the person to whom it is dedicated, it is 

 an adjective ending in nus, na, or num (according to 

 the gender of the generic name) ; as, Tulipa Gesneri- 

 ana, Gesnerian Tulip, or Gesner's Tulip ; Erica Lin- 

 neana, Linnaeus 1 Heath. 



502. Rules for the use of Capitals. The names of 

 the order, the sub-order or tribe, and of the genus, 

 should always commence with a capital letter. The 

 name of the species should never commence with a 

 capital except in the following cases: (1), when it is 

 derived from the name of a person or of a country, as 

 Phlox Drummondii, Aquilegia Canadensis ; (2), when 

 it is a substantive, as Delphinium Consolida. 



