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Today's Topics:

1. Re: to italicize or not to italicize... (Jane McGary)
2. Re: to italicize or not to italicize...(off topic) (David Ehrlich)
3. Re: to italicize or not to italicize... (Jim McKenney)
4. Re: to italicize or not to italicize...(off topic) (Jim McKenney)
5. Re: to italicize or not to italicize... (Marguerite English)
6. Re: : Mirabilis jalapa (bonaventure@optonline.net)
7. Re: to italicize or not to italicize... (Jim McKenney)
8. Re: Mirabilis jalapa (John Grimshaw)
9. Re: to italicize or not to italicize... (totototo@telus.net)
10. Re: to italicize or not to italicize... (Jim McKenney)
11. List messages (Mary Sue Ittner)
12. Botanical Names & Italics (info@auchgourishbotanicgarden.org)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:47:13 -0700
From: Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [pbs] to italicize or not to italicize...
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.0.20080916103739.016e5c58@pop.earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

I can answer Jennifer's questions based on experience editing for
horticultural publishers (and lots of others).

All components of a species name (genus, species, subspecies, variety, and
forma) are italicized, but the interpolated abbreviations subsp., var., f.
are roman. In addition, when a subgenus or section is mentioned, though
this is not part of a plant's name, it is italic. Families and higher
taxonomic levels are roman.

Common names are roman. Depending on the style adopted for a given
publication, they may or may not be capitalized; I prefer the "down style"
where capitals are used only for proper names (e.g., California poppy).

Cultivar names are roman and enclosed in single quotes (and following
punctuation goes OUTSIDE the end quote). The names of seed strains (e.g.,
the lily seed strain Golden Splendor) are capitalized, presumably because
they resemble trademarked brand names, but do not take the quotes.

In regard to hybrids, there are some names such as Crocus x jessopiae that
cover all crosses of two particular species. Such names are italic and
separated by a multiplication sign, though in casual writing we usually
use
the letter "x" instead of the mult sign. A lily hybridizer told me that
such names are rendered, in speech, by saying the mult sign as "cross."

On Jennifer's specific question about names of groups of irises, "bearded
iris" is a common name and is neither italic nor capped. "Oncocyclus
irises" is a problem because the name is that of a
section of subgenus Iris, and I would therefore capitalize it, but I would
not italicize it except in the phrase "section Oncocyclus."

One confusing aspect is how to treat taxonomic genus names that are also
common names, or are being used in run of text like common names. The rule
for English-language writing is that when the word is pluralized with "s"
("crocuses") or preceded by a word such as "a, the, these", it is
lowercase
and roman. A genus name alone is italic only when preceded by "the genus"
or used without a preceding article (e.g., "Crocus includes species that
flower in spring and that flower in fall"; "Eriogonum and Acantholimon are
appropriate dwarf shrubs for the dry bulb garden").

I'm sure there are other questions to do with this area of style, but
these
are the basic rules followed by most horticultural and botanical
publications.

Jane McGary

------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:56:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: David Ehrlich <idavide@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: [pbs] to italicize or not to italicize...(off topic)
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <423491.70409.qm@web81008.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

What got me was that while unable to deal with italics, underscores and
such, it had no problem with the ? (eth) in Mr. Hafli?ason's name.

Well, this letter (and some others) used to be in the English alphabet,
too.? We still see it used in attempts at archaicisms as in ?e olde ...,
which is now more commonly written ye olde..., because the ? has been
deleted from our alphabet, and the y sort of looks like it.?

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:14:45 -0400
From: "Jim McKenney" <jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com>
Subject: Re: [pbs] to italicize or not to italicize...
To: "'Pacific Bulb Society'" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <001d01c9175e$efd99ab0$2f01a8c0@Library>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Two things about Jane McGary?s response to this thread caught my eye.

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?

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.

Jim McKenney

jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com

Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871? North, 77.09829? West, USDA
zone
7

My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/

BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/

Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS

Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/

Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/

------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:17:16 -0400
From: "Jim McKenney" <jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com>
Subject: Re: [pbs] to italicize or not to italicize...(off topic)
To: "'Pacific Bulb Society'" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <002201c9175f$4986e900$2f01a8c0@Library>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

David Ehrlich wrote " What got me was that while unable to deal with
italics, underscores and such, it had no problem with the ? (eth) in Mr.
Hafli?ason's name."

I'm glad you're here, David; keep it coming!

Jim McKenney

------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:21:27 -0700
From: Marguerite English <meenglis@meenglis.cts.com>
Subject: Re: [pbs] to italicize or not to italicize...
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <48CEA7A7.9060809@meenglis.cts.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Thank you all for commenting on this. In the past, we have mostly
followed Jane's guidelines but the question about the Iris descriptions
got us thinking. My style book says to italicize non-English words, so
I have done that, even in common names. I have to admit that I have
accepted an author's styles when he/she seemed to have definite rules,
so we have been inconsistent about this in the Bulb Garden.
Marguerite

------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:26:32 +0000 (GMT)
From: bonaventure@optonline.net
Subject: Re: [pbs] : Mirabilis jalapa
To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
Message-ID: <e3d4b11d6c061.48cea8d8@optonline.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hi Tsuh,

I have this in my garden on the west side of my house. The yellow "breaks"
though the magenta in varying amounts on different branches of the plants.
These were the ones that survived best over the years coming from
carrot-like taproots every year.

Bonaventure Magrys
Cliffwood Beach, NJ on the Raritan Bay

i hope i did not ask this question before already. here in NYC, i see
tree pits where M. jalapa has been naturalized. there are huge bushes of
this plant. the interesting thing is, some plants produce both yellow and
pink/magenta flowers. at first, i thought they were different plants, but
actually they were from the same one. has anyone seen this before?

=========
tsuh yang

------------------------------

Message: 7
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:36:31 -0400
From: "Jim McKenney" <jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com>
Subject: Re: [pbs] to italicize or not to italicize...
To: "'Pacific Bulb Society'" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <002301c91761$f9f3a290$2f01a8c0@Library>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

While I'm being so picky about how names are spelled, I should apologize
to
Brian Mathew for misspelling his name in that very post.

Jim McKenney

------------------------------

Message: 8
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:36:13 +0100
From: "John Grimshaw" <j.grimshaw@virgin.net>
Subject: Re: [pbs] Mirabilis jalapa
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <010001c91761$ef44f470$0501a8c0@home7c68b56fed>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original

The multicoloured flowers of Mirabilis jalapa (pronounced, invariably, in
England with a J :) ), in whatever form they are (i.e several colours in
one
flower or different coloured flowers on the same plant), are caused by
transposons or jumping genes. See Wikipedia for further info on how they
work. Essentially they cause mini-mutations during the colour production
process.

Jim Waddick mentioned Ipomoea 'Flying saucers' and roses as other plants
with similarly flaky flowers, but one could add Geranium pratense
'Striatum'
and various antirrhinums to the list. Other factors causing variation in
flower colour may be virus, as in tulips (which probably works in much the
same way as transposons) and possibly tissue chimaeras.

John Grimshaw

Dr. John M. Grimshaw
Sycamore Cottage
Colesbourne
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL53 9NP

Tel. 01242 870567
----- Original Message -----
From: "piaba" <piabinha@yahoo.com>
To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2008 8:04 PM
Subject: [pbs] Mirabilis jalapa

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com/
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07:16

------------------------------

Message: 9
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:03:12 -0700
From: totototo@telus.net
Subject: Re: [pbs] to italicize or not to italicize...
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID:
<19740414223344.FB393507380AB497@priv-edmwaa06.telusplanet.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

On 15 Sep 08, at 13:03, Jim McKenney wrote:

Lack of italics? Ah, dear people, the gurus who figured out how to make
plain
text email work, many eons ago, had a solution:

/this is in italics/

_this is underlined_ (and may get translated into italics per old
typographic
convention)

*this is emphasized* (probably bold in print)

Therefore I can write

My patch of /Veriolitsis glomulama/, family Gloumlaceoideae, is blooming
its
silly head off at the moment. The local pipistrelle bats are very happy.

See? Now, wasn't that just as easy as pie?

On 15 Sep 08, at 9:34, David Ehrlich wrote:

it?should not have serifs, and it should be centered with the text, not?on
the
line like an alphabetic letter.

On Windows machines, alt+0215 gets it for you. On Unicode machines, e.g.
Linux,
it's a little trickier to compose characters in an analogous way, so it's
probably easier to set it up in one of the character palettes where it can
be
easily accessed via the usual point'n'drool interface.

That it disappeared is likely due to ? being transliterated to x in the
mail
list software.

I suspect that all of us use computers that have the multiplication sign
handy.
This is a detail of the list software that might benefit from being
revisited.

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island

http://maps.google.ca/maps/…

------------------------------

Message: 10
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:34:28 -0400
From: "Jim McKenney" <jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com>
Subject: Re: [pbs] to italicize or not to italicize...
To: "'Pacific Bulb Society'" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <002401c9176a$127130f0$2f01a8c0@Library>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Roger Whitlock wrote " Now, wasn't that just as easy as pie?"

If you say so, Roger, but I would like more sugar in mine, please.

And then he went on to say "I suspect that all of us use computers that
have
the multiplication sign handy."

I still have not forgotten the day Jane McGary pointed out, in response to
my then usage of the letter x, that the proper sign is the multiplication
sign. I truly thought she was pulling my leg. I'm not sure what about this
revelation floored me more, the fact that not only was Jane right, but
that
there are, on the one hand, people who think this sort of think is very
important, and on the other hand, people who get paid to make these
decisions. Hmmmm...I realize now that I made some faulty career choices.

And anyway, in my heart of hearts I believe the symbol in question is the
Greek letter chi, not a multiplication sign. The meaning is "cross" (as in
"I crossed species A and species B), not "times" in the arithmetic sense.
Whoever says "I timesed species A and species B"?

Actually, in this modern computer world, x and ? are different entities,
unlike in the world of vision, where they seem the same.

Some of my friends, who occasionally criticize me for my ?species
snobbery?,
fail to realize that I grew up seeing the x before plant names and thought
that meant ?cross that one off the list?. Now I'm much more sophisticated
and know that the ? means "entering notholand".

When I need it in windows, I make sure I?m in HTML mode, then click on
Insert, Symbol, and the multiplication sign is there in the table of
symbols. That?s the way I composed this message. I?ll convert to plain
text
now - and it's still there. Let's see if it makes it onto the posted form
of
this message.

Jim McKenney

------------------------------

Message: 11
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:53:17 -0700
From: Mary Sue Ittner <msittner@mcn.org>
Subject: [pbs] List messages
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20080915123309.034e9dd8@mail.mcn.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Dear David,

Messages to our list can only be in text. You must have sent yours both in
html and text. The html (formatting) was stripped and the text remained.
This is why some message sometimes appear blank when we get them. The html
has been stripped and nothing is left.

What's interesting about this is that formatting your messages to make
words bold, a different font or size, underlined, italicized, marked
through and adding images all make the message html. But it appears that
there are some symbols that can be added that allow the message to be
text.

When we started this list, anything done in html came out unreadable in
the
archives so that's why we set it up for text. Also we hoped that using
text
would make for easier cross platform sharing and allowing everyone to read
the message regardless of the equipment they used. Symbols are not always
seen the same cross platform however even if the message is text.

I'm sorry that made it difficult for you to share examples in the most
recent thread. You can write Jen privately with your examples however
since
the whole purpose of the question was to help her with the newsletter.

Mary Sue

------------------------------

Message: 12
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:50:18 +0100
From: <info@auchgourishbotanicgarden.org>
Subject: [pbs] Botanical Names & Italics
To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <002201c9183d$d45f8030$0301a8c0@homepc>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

There have been a couple of good submissions on this topic which for some
readers might be spoiled or confused by the failure of some software
incoming to correctly reflect text out going with ? in the place of etc,
etc. This text is in OUTLOOK EXPRESS.

If the following is of any use I will be glad to have helped, leaving
aside the issue, if there is one, of European versus American protocols, I
imagine your publication is read by and available to a much wider audience
therefore the issue or generalisation stated sometimes as two countries
separated by a single language might resonate for some. However, the
language of Botany is not English of whatever stripe or any other, it is
in Latin and thereby avoids national sensibilities really rather well and
the convention which exists for the international community which may be
reflected in your readership / membership would expect to see written
botanical references in the conventional manner. i.e. Latin, which is NOT
restricted to Europeans of whom only a small proportion are speakers of
Standard English, e.g. programmes versus programs, colour versus colour,
autumn versus fall, etc.

For my book on "Lilies and their Allies" I am sticking strictly by the
conventional presentation of botanical names as well as their association,
where, if and when it occurs, with that of horticultural names, these two
are quite specifically written differently to avoid confusion by readers
who not unreasonably expect what they read or is presented for reading to
reflect conventional accuracy. One of the most egregious examples of poor
presentation is where a plant's Latin identity is present with both parts
of the Bi-nomal in upper case / capital letter e.g. Lilium Japonicum
Thunb. using no italics but bold type such as is often seen in glossy
colour catalogues.

Examples as follows: a. Lilium nepalense D.Don can also be written for
references if these are thought to be required as

b. Lilium nepalense D.Don in Mem. Wern.
S. Edinburgh 3. 412 (1821);
Syn. L. ochroleucum Wallich ex Baker,
op cit. 231 (1874) pro.syn.- Lilium nepalense var. nepalense
Baker in J. RHS. 4. 41 (1831)

Where a species has produced a selection or form = forma it needs to be
shown differently as another contributor has already correctly pointed
out, e.g. a. Lilium longiflorum 'Holland's Glory' a strain developed from
Lilium longiflorum f. takeshima The lower case letter ' f' is an
acceptable abbreviation for the botanical term 'forma' which like subsp.
and ssp. are acceptable versions for the term 'subspecies' along with
'cv.' the latter abbreviation denoting 'cultivar', all of which are not
italicised and an hypothetical example would perhaps be Lilium
hypotheticum subsp. carolinianum var. yanktsii f. pendula alba cv. 'Joe's
Nightmare'

There is a further point which might be of help, when an authority for a
validly published name is cited, there has evolved a convention whereby
some names can be abbreviated, but this isn't set in concrete, e.g. L. or
Linn. for the Swedish inventor of the binomial system Carl Linnaeus,
sometimes incorrectly written as Karl Linnea. Thunb. for Thunberg, etc
etc.

Lifting examples from Indexes in "Lilies" which might help, hopefully, are
as follows and if considered in the context of the fact that where there
are, roughly, some 120 to 140 taxa = distinct botanical plants either at
species or subspecies level there are over 600 synonyms being names
genuinely properly published but owing to the International Rules on
Nomenclature the name first validly published by date is the name a plant
MUST be known by in botanical literature. Perhaps the most inconvenient
and inappropriate example of a botanical name I have come across if that
of Lilium pensylvanicum Ker-Gawler (1805) for a plant Ker-Gawler
mistakenly took to have come from North America because Mark Catesby 'sent
it' from there when in fact Catesby got it from a Russian in Alaska, its
homeland in fact being central & eastern Russia when, to correct his
mistake, he re-published the name Lilium dauricum Ker-Gawler (1809). Such
a adjustment might be accepted then however even the Ru
ssians fully accept the name Lilium pensylvanicum, presumably through
gritted teeth, because that is the correctly validly published name unless
another were to turn up with an earlier date, so far I at least haven't
found it. Using Lilium dauricum may be convenient or lax but it is never
the less incorrect. I think in your journal, your efforts would be greatly
appreciated, and admired by your peers, if you are rigorous in your use of
correct nomenclature as it will then come to be trusted and be relied upon
for your efforts to achieve accuracy. However much you try there will
always be occasions when someone will bring to your attention an example
or two of earlier published names in order to let you make appropriate
adjustments, these take place in almost every Genus of botanical plants so
are bound to happen.

This 'note' has taken longer, much longer, than intended so thank you for
baring with me, I only hope I have got it right. Should you have any other
questions you might want to put to me, please feel free and do so direct
if that's helpful, meantime best of luck with your worthy endeavour, would
that everyone was as willing to be so meticulous. You might also like to
Google up IPNI which is a site jointly run between RBG Kew and the Gray at
the Arnold, type in the family if known and or the genus name this will
99.9 % of the time provide you with much of what you need, including
synonymy where it exists.

Iain

--
I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for home users.
SPAMfighter has removed 18060 spam emails to date.
Paying users do not have this message in their emails.
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End of pbs Digest, Vol 68, Issue 19
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