Names Of Plants: Sense and Sound - Part Four
Theo Smid
Hayward, California
"Names of Plants: Sense and Sound - Part Four" continues with a listing of rhododendron and other ericaceous genera beginning with E and F. This series began in the
ARS Journal
with Vol. 42:1, Winter 1988 and will continue in future issues.
In both English and Latin the stress falls on the penult (second-last syllable) when the vowel is long, e.g.
de-c-rum
. When that vowel is short, the stress falls on the antepenult (third-last syllable), e.g.
af-ghn-i-cum
. However, a short vowel is long by position when it is followed by a double consonant, creating a stop, e.g.
a-mn-dum, cal-o-phl-lum.
A diphthong is long, e.g.
tel-ma-tel-um
. Penultimate vowels that are long in Latin or Greek are long in English and are pronounced as English long vowels. In California we have numerous examples of the difference because Spanish vowels are pronounced like Latin ones, e.g. Salinas is pronounced Sa-lee-nas, but in Kansas Salina is pronounced Sa-leye-na. Examples:
auriculatum
, -lay-tum;
occidentale
, -tay-le;
orbiculare
, -lay-re;
cinnabarinum
, -eye-num;
imped-itum
, -eye-tumn;
racemosum
, -o-sum; Greek:
chrysodoron
, -doe-ron; ssp.
xanthocodon
, -coe-don.
The common ending -
ii
, indicating possession, contains both short and long
i
, e.g.,
maddnii
. The feminine form appears in
nnae
, pronounced ann-ee.
A name of Greek origin, like
schizostigma
(σχιζειυ to split + στιγμα a brand), begins with
sk-
, as in
school
, but the British unaccountably pronounce some with
sh-
:
Schizanthus
, schedule.
Rhododendron Species E
R. edcteum
Balf.f & Forr. (L. picked out) Ch. "variegated r."
var.
belltulum
Balf. f. exTagg (L. somewhat pretty)
R. ednoi
Merry & Quisumb. (of C. Edano, a Philippine collector)
R. edgewrthii
Hook. f. (of Michael P. Edgeworth, 1812-1881, Bengal Civil Service, 1821-81; collected plants in Aden, India, Ceylon; "Plants from Northwestern India,"
Trans. Linn. Soc.
v. 20, 1851), etc.
Edgeworthia
Meissner
R. elegntulum
Tagg & Forr. (L. somewhat elegant)
R. ellitti
Watt ex Brandis (of a Mr. Elliott, a friend of Sir George Watt, 1851-1930, who discovered it); see
R. wattii
.
R. emargintum
Hemsl. & Wils. (L. with a margin, i.e. a shallow notch) Ch. "notched-tip r."
R. englernum
Koorder (of Victor C. A. Engler, 1885-1917)
R. erstum
Balf.f. & Forr. (G. lit. beloved)
R. ericides
Low ex Hook. f. (resembling
Erica
R. erosiptalum
J. J. Sm. (L. lobe eaten away)
R. esetulsum
Balf.f. & Forr. (L. hairless)
R. esquirlii
Lvl. (of Pre Joseph-Henri Esquirol, who collected in Yunnan, 1907-17)
R. echroum
Balf. f. & Ward (G. lit. fresh-looking)
R. eudxum
Balf.f. & Forr. (G. lit. of good report)
var.
brunneiflium
(Balf. f. & Forr.) Chamb. (G.
bruon
moss + L. leaf)
var.
mesoplium
(Balf. f. & Forr.) Chamb. (G.
mesos
in the middle +
polis
a city, by extension, metropolitan)
R. euonymiflium
Tagg & Forr. (with a leaf like
Euonymus
) Ch. "euonymus-leaved r."
R. eursiphon
Tagg & Forr. (G. euros breadth +
siphon
tube, especially the one used to draw wine out of a cask)
R. exaspertum
Tagg (L. rough)
R. excllens
Hemsl. &Wils. (L. excelling) Ch. "large-trumpet r."
R. exclsum
Chevalier (L. elevated)
R. exqusitum
J. L. Ming (L. choice) Ch. "exquisite r."
R. extrrsum
J. J. Sm. (L. [growing] outwardly)
R. ytnae
Sleumer ("after the Dutch botanist collector P. Eyma, 1903-1945, who died in a Japanese concentration camp," Sleumer)
Rhododendron Species F
R. fberi
Hemsl. (of Rev. E. Faber, who collected near Tatsienlu, now Kang-ding,China, 1887-91)
ssp.
prttii
(Franch.) Chamb. (of Antwerp E. Pratt, fl. 1880s-1910s, explorer & professional zoological collector of insects and plants in China, New Guinea, So. Amer., who discovered it.)
To the Snows of Tibet through China
, 1891;
Two Years among New Guinea Cannibals
, 1906
Clematis prattii
Hemsl. Ch. "Jinding r."
R. factum
Balf. f. & Ward (L. elegant)
R. fithae
Chun (of Miss Faith Chun, niece of the author) She was a staff member of the Botanical Institute, College of Agriculture, Sun Yat-sen University, Canton. Ch. "large-cloud-brocade r."
R. falcneri
Hook. f. (of Hugh Falconer, 1808-1865, M.D. Edinburgh; surgeon E. India Co., Bengal; supt. Saharanpar Garden, Calcutta Botanic Gardens; prof, of botany, Calcutta Med. Coll.; plants at Kew.)
Falconera
Royle.
ssp.
exmium
(Nutt.) Chamb. (L. excellent)
R. fallacnum
Sleumer (L. somewhat deceitful)
R. farinsum
Lvl. (L. mealy)
R. frrerae
Tate apud Sweet (of the wife of Capt. Farrer, E. India Co., who introduced it in 1829); reintr. by Robert Fortune in 1844. Farrer's or Lilac Azalea. Ch. "lilac r."
R. fastigitum
Franch. (L. branches erect & close together) Ch. "densely-branched r."
R. facium
Chamberlain (L. of the gorges, s.e. Xizang = Tibet).
R. fddei
Lvl. (of Friedrich K. G. Fedde, 1873-1942, after whom the journal
Fedde Reppertorium
is named)
R. ferrugneum
L. (L. rusty, i.e. in color) intro. 1752
R. flmmeum
(Michx.) Sargent (L. anc. Rom. bridal-veil, orange-red) Oconee Azalea; 1st described by Aiton in 1789 as
A. nudiflora
var.
coccinea
R. flavnthera
Hutch. & Ward (L. yellow anther)
R. flvidum
Franch. (L. somewhat yellow) intr. 1905 Ch. "light-yellow r."
var.
psilostylum
Rehd. &Wils. (G.
psilos
bare + style)
R. fletchernum
Davidian (of Harold R. Fletcher, 1907-1919, Regius Keeper, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh)
R. fleryi
Dop (of Francis Fleury, 1881-1919, who collected in Afr., Fr. lndo-China, 1907-10, 1916)
R. floccgerum
Franch. (L. carrying a bit of wool, red "wool" on shoots) Ch. "woolly r."
R. floribndum
Franch. (L. free-flowering) Ch. "abundantly-flowering r."
R. flumneum
Fang et M.Y. He (L. at the river) Riverside Azalea
R. formosnum
Hemsl. (of Formosa, i.e. Taiwan)
R. formsum
Wallich (L. beautiful)
var.
inaequle
(Hutch.) Cullen (L. unequal, i.e. in size)
Iteophllum Group (G.
itea
willow + leaf)
R. forrstii
Balf. f. ex Diels (of George Forrest, Scot. 1873-China 1932) Ch. "purple-backed r."
Rpens Group (L. creeping)
ssp.
papilltum
Chamb. (L. pimpled)
Forrest made seven collecting trips to Yunnan between 1904-32, during which he sent to Edinburgh an enormous number of plants, including
Abies forrestii
,
Acer forrestii
,
Gentiana sino-ornata
,
Rhododendron forrestii
,
R. sinogrande
and
R. giganteum
(now a variety of
R. protistum
), to name a few, but above all he was the collector for the specialist in rhododendrons and primulas, for the alpine house and the rock garden.
His first journey was financed by Arthur K. Bulley, a wealthy Liverpool cotton-broker, through Bayley Balfour at the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, to whom he sent his new species for identification. This was a period of border wars between China and Tibet. In July, 1905, a party of about 80 - Forrest with 17 servants and collectors, and two aged French missionaries with their Chinese converts and their families - set out from Tengyueh at night. The Tibetans attacked, the party panicked and scattered. All but 14 were slain or captured, one priest killed on the spot and the other tortured to death. Forrest accidentally fell, rolled down into the jungle and was saved.
He discarded his boots to avoid making tracks and wandered for nine days with only some grains of wheat and parched peas for food. Since he had been able to retain firearms, he decided to hold-up a small Lissu village. However, the headman was friendly, hid and fed him meal of parched barley-flour, the only food available. Forrest gorged himself on this so that he suffered gastric pains for weeks afterward. The headman passed him on to another, who supplied him with guides over the dividing range to the Mekong valley. This phase of the journey required hacking a way through wet jungle and struggling through the snows, glaciers and rocks of a 17,000-foot ridge.
J. C. Williams of Caerhays, Cornwall, was the principal backer of subsequent trips. On 5 January, 1932, Forrest packed for a tour of botanizing, set out, but suddenly collapsed and died before he could be reached. He was buried in Tengyueh near his friend, G. L. Litton, the British consul.
R. fortnans
J. J. Sm. (L. prospering)
R. fortnei
Lindley (of Robert Fortune, Scot. 1812-1880) Ch. "cloud-brocade r."
ssp.
discolor
(Franch.) Chamb. (G.
dis-
twice + L. color)
Houlstnii Group (of G. Houlston, Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs, and friend of E. H. Wilson)
Robert Fortune went to China under the terms of the Treaty of Nanking, 1842, which permitted Europeans to travel only 20-30 miles beyond treaty-ports. Most of his journeys were made from his base at Shanghai. At the outset he engaged in a gun battle with five vessels of pirates in the South China Sea during which most of his crew disappeared below-deck during the fighting. As collector for the Horticultural Society of London he shipped his materials in Wardian cases, the first long-distance use of those devices. Included among his acquisitions were the first forsythia, the first weigela, three fine viburnums and other plants now common in gardens. Instead of returning to China as expected, he served as curator of Chelsea Physic Garden.
When he did return in 1848 he grew bolder, disguising himself as a Chinese and, with a minimum of helpers, traveled hundreds of miles inland in quest of tea. He obtained plants and seeds of green tea near Sung-lo Shan, a center of its production, and of black tea at Chung-ngan. These introductions formed the basis for the production of tea in India.
In October 1855 he collected seed of
R. fortunei
at Poo-in-che after hearing its praise from the local people; this he sent to Messrs. Glendinning of Chiswick. At the behest of the American government, which wanted to grow tea experimentally in the South, he made another trip in 1858-59.
After Commodore Matthew Perry had opened the ports of Japan to trade, plant-collectors and others swarmed there. In late 1860 Fortune arrived from China, but confined his search mainly to nurseries in the principal cities. Among his introductions were
Lilum auratum
, which he had seen growing in the wild,
Cryptomeria
and
Primula japonica
, he considered the male form of
Aucuba japonica
to be the best because only the female form had been available in Britain.
Three Years' Wanderings in the Northern Provinces of China
, 1847;
Journey to Tea Countries of China
, 1852 (available from the RHS in paperback, 1988); etc.
Fortunea
Lindley;
Fortunella
Swingle
R. fragariiflrum
Ward (L. of strawberry, flower, i.e. red)
R. frgrans
(Adams) Maxim. (L. fragrant)
R. frywisstingii
J. J. Sm. (of A. Frey-Wissling, Swiss botanist, who collected on Sumatra)
R. fchsii
(foox) Sleumer (of "H. P. Fuchs, Swiss botanist and collector, who collected on Mt. Kinabalu in 1963 and was the first to reach the north face of that massif; possibly a hybrid," Sleumer)
R. flgens
Hook.f. (L. shining)
R. flvum
Balf. f. & W. W. Sm. (L. tawny) Ch. "sickle-capsule r."
Other Ericaceous Genera E
Ellittia
Muhlenberg ex Elliott (of Stephen Elliott, 1771-1830, Amer. botanist who wrote a flora of So. Carolina), 4 spp. Japan, No. Amer., including former
Cladothamnus
E. racemsa
Muhl. ex Ell. (L. flowers in an un-branched indeterminate inflorescence), pine-barrens, e. Ga.-s. So. Car.
Enkinthus
Loureiro (G.
egkuein
to be pregnant +
anthos
flower, i.e. the large colored involucre of
E. quinqueflorus
resembles a flower enclosing other flowers) 10 spp. Himal. -Japan; deciduous shrubs with form of a pagoda.
E. campanultus
(Miquel) Nichols (L. bell-shaped) cult, in U.S. 1870
var.
albiflrus
Makino (L. white-flowered)
var.
palibnii
(Craib) Bean (of Ivan V. Palibin, 1872-1949)
E. crnuus
(Sieber & Zuccarini) Makino (L. nodding) cult. 1900
E. chinnsis
Franch. (of China - western) intr. 1900
E. deflxus
(Griffith) Schneider (L. bent abruptly down) cult. 1878
E. perultus
(Miquel) Schneid. (L. pocket-like, i.e. flowers) intr. c. 1870
Epigaa
L. (C.
epi
on +
gaia
earth, ground) Ground Laurel, 3 spp
E. asitica
Maxim. (Asiatic) Japan, cult. 1930
E. gaultherioides
(Boissieu) Takhtadjan (resembling
Caultheria
) Caucasus, E. Asia Minor intr. 1885
E. repens
L. (L. creeping), Mayflower, Trailing Arbutus,
Fleur de Mai
; e. U.S., intr. 1736
var.
glabriflia
Fern. (L. smooth-leaved)
var.
glabriflia flre plna
Rehd. (L. - double-flowered)
Erica
L. (Latinised from Greek
ereike
; ancient name for
E. arborea
and f.
multiflora
; Pliny, N. H. 13, 114; 24, 64) c. 665 spp. S. Afr., trop. Afr. mts., Medit., Macronesia, Eur.; 520 of them endemic in so. Cape Prov. Some are listed here.
E. arbrea
L. (L. tree-like), intr. into cult. w. Eur. 1658
E. austrlis
L. (L. southern, i.e. Sp. & Port.)
E. bccans
L. (L. berried)
E. canaliculta
Andre (L. channeled, grooved)
E. capnsis
Salter (of the Cape of Good Hope)
E. carnea
L. (L. of flesh, i.e. color)
E. chamissnis
(ka-) Klotzch ex Bentham (of Adalbert von Chamisso, Ger. 1781-1838)
E. cilirs
L. (L. fringed with hairs)
E. cinrea
L. (L. ashy, i.e. color)
E. crunta
Solander (L. bloody, i.e. color)
E. decpiens
Kurt Sprengel (L. deceiving)
E. diphana
K. Spreng. (G.
diaphanes
seen through)
E. doliifrmis
Salisbury (L. of the shape of a large wine-jar, tubby)
E. exsrgens
Andr (L. rising up)
E. glandulsa
Thunberg (L. very glandular)
E. glaca
Andre (L. bluish-gray or greenish-gray fol.)
E. globsa
Andre (L. spherical)
E. gradlis
J. C.Wendland (L. slender)
E. hirtiflra
Curtis (L. with a shaggy flower)
E. hyemlis
Nichols (L. of winter)
E. laterlis
Willdenow (L. of the sides)
E. lusitnica
K. Rudolphi (of Lusitania, anc. Roman name for Portugal)
E. mackaina
Babington (of John J. Mackay, Eng. 1775-1862)
E. mammsa
L. (L. with nipples)
E. mediterrnea
L. (of the Medit.)
E. melnthera
L. (G.
melano-
black + anther)
E. multiflra
L. (L. many flowers)
E. persolta
L. (L. completely detached)
E. regrminans
L. (L. regerminating)
E. scopria
L. (L. like a sweeper, from resemblance to Broom)
E. siciflia
(si-si) Salisbury (L. dagger-leaved)
E. stiens
Klotzch (L. being thirsty)
E. terminlis
Salisb. (L. flowers in terminal umbels)
E. tetrlix
L. (G. with four spirals, name used by Theophrastus)
E. umbellta
L. (L. umbelled)
E. vagans
L. (L. wandering)
X
vetchii
Bean (of the Veitch Nursery:
arborea
x
lusitanica
)
E. ventricsa
Thunb. (L. belly-shaped)
E. verscolor
J. C. Wendl. (L. variously-colored)
E. verticillta
Bergius (L. whorled)
E. viridipurprea
L. (L. greenish-purple)
X
willimsii
Druce (of J. C.Williams, Caerhays, Cornwall:
tetralix
x
vagans
)