Since it is very cold out, and many of us are not gardening, but giving lots of attention
to obscure but very deserving aspects of our hobby, perhaps we may turn our attention to an aspect of Jim's latest email. His usage, Ph. okanaganensis, is something that has fallen out of favor in the USA; I have seen it only in Australia, where the orchid group we belong to routinely abbreviates, for example, Thelymitra as Th. at a subsequent occurrence. I am suspecting that this relates back to the Greek letters upon which the name is based. However, no style book is available to me which would provide guidance on which initials are properly treated in this manner. More broadly, I also note the use of double letters to indicate the plural. For example, " ... we saw Eriogonum ovalifolium and also EE. pyrolifolium and umbellatum ... " I have seen this in British journals, but rarely, if ever, in the USA. As Jim has recently cited more than one century-old reference book, perhaps he could find some authoritative sources to guide us in proper usage here. (I must confess that the secretary's desk reference that my mother studied from at Girls' Commercial High School in Brooklyn in the 1930's is long gone from the family's possession. Pity.) Dave Dobak Portland, Oregon, USA From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jim McKenney Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 8:46 AM To: 'Alpine-L, the Electronic Rock Garden Society; postings copyright by authors.' Subject: Re: [Alpine-l] cous again ... so if you call the plant Phemeranthus, it should be Ph. okanaganensis (not -ense). Jim McKenney
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