So much for nomenclatural stability

[Moore, Gerry]

Besides Morellus, Eaton also introduced the name Vexillaria (Man. Bot.:
80. 1817) as a substitute for Clitoria, with the following footnote:
"This name is given as a substitute of the 1712th genus of Persoon,
which is so severely censured by Dr. [James Edward] Smith in Rees'
Cyclopaedia." Eaton did not consider himself a botanist but rather a
popularizer of the field (see TL-2; Merrill and Reeder. Bartonia 24:
26-77). As such, I guess he saw a need to replace what he saw as "R"
rated names with "G" alternatives.

Gerry

Gerry Moore
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
1000 Washington Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11225-1009
718-623-7332 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas G. Lammers [mailto:lammers at UWOSH.EDU] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 8:59 AM
To: TAXACOM at LISTSERV.NHM.KU.EDU
Subject: Re: So much for nomenclatural stability


At 07:50 AM 3/9/2005, Paul Kirk wrote:
>Here is an example of an attempt to make the name of a fungus morally 
>acceptable/correct.
>
>The well know fungus genus Phallus Junius ex L. 1753 (the common 
>stikhorn is Phallus impudicus) is so named for obvious reasons. In 1818

>the american botanist Amos Eaton published the genus Morellus to 
>replace Phallus with the diagnosis, if I recall correctly, 'A 
>substitute for a vile name' - nomenclatural stability was preserved and

>the name was declared superfluous (illegitimate) when the ICBN arrived.

Interesting.  I didn't know that.  Makes me wonder if anyone similarly
tried to do something about Clitoria mariana.


Thomas G. Lammers, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor and Curator of the Herbarium (OSH) Department of
Biology and Microbiology University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Oshkosh,
Wisconsin 54901-8640 USA

e-mail:       lammers at uwosh.edu
phone:      920-424-1002
fax:           920-424-1101

Plant systematics; classification, nomenclature, evolution, and
biogeography of the Campanulaceae s. lat.

Webpages:
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/Lammers.htm
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/herbarium/herbarium.html
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Resort/7156/lammers.html
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