to italicize or not to italicize...

Jane McGary janemcgary@earthlink.net
Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:44:29 PDT
Jim ASked,
Jane, I'm curious about your recommendation to capitalize the initial O in
>oncocyclus. If we do not capitalize the initial letters of genera used as
>vernacular names, what justification is there for the capitalization the
>initial letter of a subgeneric taxon used the same way?

I do not interpret this as a "vernacular" name. There are many analogous 
instances, especially in such large genera as Saxifraga and Penstemon, 
where subgenus or section names are capitalized in this context. This is a 
judgment call, as many parts of editorial stylesheets are.

>
>
>Now on to something entirely different. You mention a crocus name " there
>are some names such as Crocus x jessopiae".  Bowles published this name as
>Crocus jessoppiae (i.e., with two letters p) and, as if to forestall any
>"improvements" of his spelling went on to cite the name of the eponym, Miss
>Euphemia Jessopp.  I notice that both you and Brian Matthew use other
>spellings. I think this might be a case of great minds thinking alike, but
>incorrectly.

Since Brian Mathew's (note that he himself has only one "t") monograph is 
the latest book-length authority on Crocus, I accept his spellings unless 
they have been superseded by, for instance, Flora Europaea.

Jane McGary


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