Flora of Iran

[Thomas G. Lammers]

At 08:58 AM 03-02-99 -0700, Joe L.  wrote:

>I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong, but this
>is what I remember hearing a few years ago. The
>rumor was that the Flora of Iran, published in the
>1980's, was printed entirely in Latin. The story
>I heard was that publishing it in the language of the
>"Great Satan" would have been politically haram [=ganz
>verboten]. Hence the choice was between Latin and
>Farsi.

It'd make a swell story, except for being so factually challenged.

I just ran down to the library and quickly checked and here is what I found:

Flora Iranica by K. H. Rechinger of Vienna started publication in the early
1960's, well before the revolution (and I don't think Herr Prof. Dr.
Rechinger has any particular grudge against the USA).  The descriptions and
keys were indeed Latin, but with comments in English; this continued through
the late 1980's.  More recent volumes (1997-98) are entirely English.

Flora de l'Iran by Ahmad Parsa of Teheran was published in the 1940's-50's,
though I think there is a vol. 10 dated 1980 that we don't have [aside: if
anyone out there does have vol. 10, please xerox Campanulaceae pages and
mail to me; thank you!].  It is entirely in French.

I do not know the reasons for these cho9ices, except that all three are
widely understood international languages.


Thomas G. Lammers

Classification, Nomenclature, Phylogeny and Biogeography
of the Campanulaceae, s. lat.

Department of Botany
Field Museum of Natural History
Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60605-2496 USA

e-mail:    tlammers at fmnh.org
office:          312-922-9410 ext. 317 (voice-mail)
fax:                312-427-2530

-----------------------------------------------------
"The most important thing to learn is how
   to teach yourself.  Everything else ...
   is just detail."
                                  -- Patrick Gibson