268 PART IV. VEGETABLE TAXONOMY. 



In the naming of plants, the binomial plan of nomenclature, 

 first brought prominently into use by Linnaeus, is now universally 

 adopted. This consists in applying the name of the genus and 

 following it with the name of the species. According to this 

 plan, the generic name must never be duplicated or applied to 

 more than one genus, but the same specific name may be used 

 again and again, providing it is appropriate and is not applied 

 to more than one species of the same genus. The names, with 

 rare exceptions, are either of Latin origin or Latinized from 

 other languages. Solanum tuberosum, for example, is the name 

 of the Potato plant, and Gentiana crinita, of the Fringed Gentian. 

 The usage, it will be seen, is analogous to that employed in 

 naming persons, except that the order of the names is reversed, 

 the generic name corresponding to the surname, and the specific 

 to the christian or given name. The plan has also obviously the 

 same advantages. 



As to the origin of botanical names, some have come down 

 to us from remote antiquity. Of these Petroselinum and Man- 

 dragora are examples. The larger proportion, however, are of 

 modern invention. Some of these were applied because of some 

 useful property, real or fancied, which the plant was regarded as 

 possessing ; for example, Scrophularia, because the plant was 

 believed to be useful in scrofula ; and Serpentaria, because the 

 plant was thought to be a remedy for the bites of poisonous 

 serpents. Sometimes they were given in allusion to something 

 in the appearance, habit, structure or behavior of the plant. 

 Podophyllum, for example, has reference to the shape of the leaf; 

 Dendrobium, to the epiphytic habit of the plant ; Utricular ia, to 

 the fact that most of the species have small bladders on their 

 leaves ; and Impatiens, to the fact that the ripe capsules rupture 

 explosively when touched. 



Very commonly also names were applied in honor of some 

 naturalist, either the botanist who discovered or first accurately 

 investigated and described the plant, or some other naturalist of 

 eminence ; for example, Linticea was named in honor of the great 

 Swedish naturalist, and Claytonia in honor of Clayton, an early 

 American botanist. 



The first or generic name of the plant is always a noun, and 

 should begin with a capital letter; the second, or specific name, 



