Fwd: PhyloCode names

[Moore, Gerry]

TL: Or here's a wild hare-brained (or is it hair-brained?) thought:  use the
preface "Phylo-" for names complying with the PhyloCode.
Phylocampanulaceae, Phylolamiaceae, Phylobarnadesiinae,
Phylophyllanthus ...   Or maybe as a suffix?  Asteriphylum,  Lamiphylum,
Lobeliphylum ....


I prefer an approach that permits the distinction (a name used in phylo
nomenclature vs. one used in traditional nomenclature) to be made in a
manner independent of the names.  Such an approach is in the current draft
of the PhyloCode (Art. 6.1), which permits bracketed or superscripted
letters - "P" for phylogenetic or "L" for "Linnaean" (i.e., traditional)
nomenclature (I must admit I don't like the term "Linnaean" for traditional
nomenclature).

I think it is inappropriate to force a single prefix or suffix on all names
used in a single system of nomenclature. If phylogenetic nomenclature were
to be commonly used and it mandated one suffix or prefix for all names, we
would be talking about thousand and thousands of names with the same prefix
or suffix.  This would result in such eyesores (and in some cases earsores)
such as Phyloaa and Phylooplismeniopsis (although I do like the idea of a
Phylolinnaea).  In the case of suffixes there are additional problems. In
botanical nomenclature, suffixes are typically added onto the generic stem
(e.g., Lamiaceae, Lamiales based on the genus name Lamium).  If phylogenetic
nomenclature required a single suffix then only one name could be based on
the genus name Lamium. If the suffix was not added to the stem but rather
the whole name, then we may have the eyesore/earsore problem again.
Permitting a suffix to be added to something other than the original stem or
the entire name would require a lot of orthographic rules to make sure
everyone is doing it the same way, and I know few people who like
orthography.

One of the ways new names are created in a nomenclatural system is through
the addition of affixes (prefixes, suffixes, infixes) to an existing name.
Eliminating one of these options (i.e., mandating a given prefix or suffix)
would limit one's ability to create new names in such a system.

Cheers,
Gerry Moore
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
23 October 2000