8o Frederic E. Clements 



The desirability of being able to know the etymology and ap- 

 plication of each generic and specific name is obvious, but the 

 rule given above will work advantageously in other matters also. 

 An author who cites accurately the derivation of a proposed 

 name will be much less apt to err in its construction, while the 

 necessity for indicating its application will bring about greater 

 accuracy in the choice of characters. Desirable as it might be, 

 it is futile to demand that names show a proper degree of rele- 

 vancy, or to reject them because they are more or less inap- 

 plicable. In matters of taste, it is both possible and highly de- 

 sirable to have a standard, but it is idle to expect that it will be 

 either appreciated or followed by the majority. Since names are 

 to be rejected if improperly constructed, it is imperative that the 

 exact etymology be given in each case, in order that their valid- 

 ity may be readily ascertained. A name then would stand or 

 fall by its given etymology. It is extremely unsatisfactory to 

 say of a name, for example, "from the Greek for flower;" the 

 exact form of the Greek or Latin stem employed should be 

 given. 



The termination of family, ordinal, class, and branch names shall be uni- 

 form within each group: tribes shall terminate in -inae, families in -aceae, orders 

 in -ales, classes in -eae, and branches in -phyta. 



"The names of divisions and subdivisions, of classes and sub- 

 classes, are drawn from their principal characters. They are 

 expressed by words of Greek and Latin origin, some similarity 

 of form and termination being given to those that designate 

 groups of the same nature." Paris Code, Article 18. 



The designation of all groups of the same rank by means of a 

 common suffix is at present merely a convenience, but with the 

 increasing minuteness of systematic work and the growing ten- 

 dency toward segregation, it will soon become a necessity. Sub- 

 divisions and superdivisions will need to be set off from tribes, fami- 

 lies, orders, and classes, and the terminations for the latter must be 

 definitely fixed in order to secure a basis for distinguishing the next 



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