Narcissus albimarginatus

Jim McKenney jamesamckenney@verizon.net
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 18:17:24 PST
Jane asked "I was wondering why the species epithet bestowed on the pictured 
plant is "albimarginatus" and not "albomarginatus," which is more usual."

When compound words are formed from Latin stems/roots, the combining vowel is i, and it's a short i; when compound words are formed from Greek stems/roots, the combining vowel is o (omicron, short o). That these combining vowels are short is important to know for those who follow the text book rules for placement of the stress. 

The rule as given above is a simplified version: stems which end in a vowel or begin in a vowel will sometimes result in various vowel fusions.

Jim McKenney
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where more snow is possible tonight. 







On Thursday, March 6, 2014 8:57 PM, Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> wrote:
  
At 05:15 PM 3/6/2014, you wrote:
>         Surprised that no has remarked on this rare and unusual 
> Narcissus. The white edged cup seems to be unique in the genus and 
> I was very glad to get a glimpse of this rarity. Thanks.  JW

Some years ago I raised a number of Narcissus jonquilla from seed 
collected in the Pyrenees, and many of them (being mostly bright 
yellow) showed some white at the margin or the base of the corona, or 
at the inner part of the corolla, or both. I expect this is normal 
variation for a wild population but probably not admired by daffodil breeders.

I was wondering why the species epithet bestowed on the pictured 
plant is "albimarginatus" and not "albomarginatus," which is more usual.

Jane McGary
Portland, Oregon, USA






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