Except when the specific epithet is in the genitive form, e.g. Barkera (nom), barkerae (gen); as in Haemanthus barkerae, "Ms. Barker's Haemanthus." If we used an adjective form, it mights be "Haemanthus barkerianus" for instance (where are the pedants when we need one!?!) Might this mean "the Heamanthus that looks like Ms. Barker"? Jim At 02:48 PM 6/28/2010 -0700, you wrote: >The specific epithet has to agree with the gender of the genus, so has >nothing to do with the gender of anyone it commemorates. > > T ************************************************* Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd. P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA