Thanks, Paige. In my recent posting about the dieresis, I indicated that I thought the use of the dieresis was optional and that I would check. Here's what the Rules say: 60.6. Diacritical signs are not used in Latin plant names. In names (either new or old) drawn from words in which such signs appear, the signs are to be suppressed with the necessary transcription of the letters so modified; for example ä, ö, ü become, respectively, ae, oe, ue; é, è, ê become e, or sometimes ae; ñ becomes n; ø becomes oe; å becomes ao. The diaeresis, indicating that a vowel is to be pronounced separately from the preceding vowel (as in Cephaëlis, Isoëtes), is permissible; the ligatures -æ- and -œ-, indicating that the letters are pronounced together, are to be replaced by the separate letters -ae- and -oe-. I assume that "permissible" means that you can use it if you want to but are not obligated to use it. Jim McKenney