178 ACADEMIC BOTANr. 



plants of the Rose Order are called Rosaeece from the Latin Rosacea 

 (belonging to the rose, rose-like). 



432. The Names of Genera are Latinized Nouns of the Singular 

 Number, Nominative Case. They may be masculine, feminine, or 

 neuter, according to the choice of the person who names the plant. 

 The name is often that of a person : Magnolia is the name of the 

 French botanist Magnol, with a Latinized feminine ending (a). Or 

 it may be given on account of some characteristic of the plant. Let- 

 tuce is called Lactuca (L. lac, lactis, milk) on account of its milky 

 juice; here the ending is feminine. Geranium is from the Greek 

 geranion, which is from gei-anos, a crane ; the name is given on ac- 

 count of the resemblance the fruit bears to a crane's biflf; the Greek 

 ending on is here changed to the Latin neuter um. The EaspbeiTy is 

 called Rubus from the Latin ruber, rod ; the er iS' changed to the 

 masculine ending us. Sometimes the aboriginal name is retained as 

 a generic one ; like the Greek Phlox and the Mexican Yucca. 



433. The Names of Species are Latinized Adjectives agreeing in 

 Gender with the Generic name to which they are appended. They 

 usually specify some characteristic : as Magnolia grandiflora, large- 

 flowered Magnolia. Sometimes the specific name is given in honor 

 of a person : as Maurandia Barclayana (Barclay Maurandia). Or it is 

 the name of a place : as Eubus Idmus (Mt. Ida Raspberry). Some- 

 times it is the name of the person who discovered the plant ; and then 

 it is in the genitive singular: as Phlox Drummondii (Drummond's 

 Phlox), — Drummond being first Latinized into the nominative mascu- 

 line Drummondiiisj whence the genitive masculine Drummondii is 

 taken. Sometimes the specific name is one which was formerly ge- 

 neric: as Quercus Robur; here the generic name Quercus is Latin for 

 oak, the specific name Robur Latin for hard oak. In this case the spe- 

 cific name is a noun ; and in all such instances it is not declinable. 



434. Initial Letters. — Glasses, Orders, and Genera are written 

 with a capital initial. Species have a capital initial when the name 

 comes (1) from a person (Phlox Drutnmondii) ; or (2) from a place 

 (Rubus Idceus) ; or (3) from a generic name (Quercus Robur). In all 

 other cases the specific name is written with a small letter, as Mag- 

 nolia grandiflora. Agave america.na. (Adjectives derived from a 

 country — as amerieana — should never be written with a capital initial. 

 The custom of writing them with a capital initial prevails only in the 

 United States ; it is entirely unknown to scientific nomenclature else- 

 where throughout the world.) 



435. The Rules for Pronunciation given here are those of the 

 Italian method. Italy being the mother-seat of the Latin language, 

 it is presumable that Italian scholai-s are best acquainted with its tra- 

 ditions and its genius. The letters y and w are not in the Latin 

 alphabet. They are introduced into scientific nomenclature from 

 other languages. 



436. The Vowels are a, e, i, j, y, o, u, w. Their sounds are ap- 

 proximately as in the following English words : 



Long i f cither, 

 Sl>o^' { fl. 



