common names/botanical names
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: common names/botanical names
- From: J* R* <j*@silcom.com>
- Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 19:28:09 -0800 (PST)
I just learned in class that it was a convention among old time botanists
to use a hypen in the common name for a plant, if the common name
incorrectly reflects its botanical name. For instance, meadow-rue is not a
rue; douglas-fir is not a fir; rock-rose is not a rose. If the common name
were correct, then there would be no hypen like Bourbon rose, or what ever.
This appears in Jepson, but not consistently.
It would help a lot if the convention were revived.
Jane
_______________________________________________________________________
Jane Reese
E-mail: jreese@silcom.com
