302 



THE FORMATION 



352. Nomenclature. The names of formations are taken from the hab- 

 itats which they occupy. Each formation should have a vernacular and a 

 scientific name. The latter is especially important since it ensures brevity 

 and uniformity, and obviates the obscurity and confusion that arise from 

 vernacular terms in many tongues. Scientific names have been made uni- 

 formly from Greek words of proper meaning by the addition of the suffix 

 -ium (etov), which denotes place.^ The following list gives the English and 

 the scientific name of the various habitats, and their corresponding forma- 

 tions, and indicates the primary divisions into which these fall. 



I. Hydrophytia: water plant for- 

 mations 



1. ocean: oceanium: oce- 



anad,'^ oceanophilous, 

 etc. 



2. sea: thalassium 



surface of the sea: 



pelagium 

 deep sea: pontium 



3. lake: limnium, limnad 



4. pond, pool, tiphium, tip- 



had 



5. stagnant water: stas- 



ium: stasad 



6. salt marsh : limnodium, 



limnodad 



7. fresh marsh : helium 



8. wet meadow: telmatium 



9. river: potamium 



10. creek, rhoium 



11. brook: namatium 



12. torrent: rhyacium 



13. spring: crenium 



14. warm spring: thermium 



15. ditch : taphrium 



16. sewer: laurium 



17. swamp forest: helohy- 



lium 



18. swamp open woodland : 



helodium 



19. meadow thicket: helo- 



drium 



20. bank: ochthium 



rock bank : petroch- 



thium 

 sand bank : ammoch- 



thium 

 mud bank: pelochthium 



21. rocky seashore: actium 



22. sandy seashore : agium 



23. sandbar: cheradium 



24. tank: phretium 



II. Mesophytia: middle plant for- 

 mations 

 a. Sciophytia: shade plant 

 formations 



26. forest : hylium 



27. gjove: alsium 



28. orchard: dendrium 



29. canyon: ancium 



30. open woodland: orga- 



dium 



'Cements, F. E. A System of Nomenclature for Phytogeography. Engler Jahrb., 

 31:b70:l. ]902. 



'The terms, oceanad, hylad, poad, eremad, etc.. are proposed in place of ocean- 

 ophyte, hylophyte, etc. They are much shorter and make consistent groups under the 

 general term, ecad., i. c, habitat form. 



