name for new genus

[Michael Vincent]

> Someone wanted to name
> a genus after Billie Turner at the University of
> Texas. There was already a Turnera, so the plant was
> named Billieturnera. With all do respect to Dr. Turner,
> has done me many kind favors over the years, I think
> this is rather silly.
>    As an aside, Dr. Turner called me on the telephone
> several years ago informing me he intended to
> name a new species after me. It took me ten minutes
> to convince him not to.


This coming from someone who named plant species after Star Trek
(fictional TV show) characters... That is more than a little
inconsistent!

What difference does it make if a taxon is named after a person,
place, or morphological character, as long as it is named and
identifiable?  Does the fact that Billieturnera is named
Billieturnera make it any less a valid genus?

We have a lot of work cut out for us just in recognizing and naming
the world's biota before it dissappears.  Why waste time in such
quibbling?

Dr. Michael A. Vincent, Curator    TEL: 513-529-2755
W.S. Turrell Herbarium (MU)        FAX: 513-529-4243
Department of Botany
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056 USA
Email: Vincenma at MUOhio.edu