Jay [Pfahl] wrote "various spellings provided... on the genus Aerides. Is A multiflora [Kew] or multiflorum [w3tropicos] correct. This same problem seems to be out there in many books as well. Hooker, Holttum, Hawkes has it as multiflorum, Pridgeon, Seidenfadden, Comber multiflora. Was it unclear in the past that Aerides was a feminine name and therefore newer tomes have it feminine, older masculine?... I would suspect that the feminine is correct only because it is the more modern usage"
In Latin, the gender neutral also exists. "With Aerides... it was not easy to find the right gender... now the female is generally recongnized : .... Aerides krabiénsis [note : To determine you have to say Aerides quinquevúlnerum or Aerides quinquevúlnera is almost impossible. If the botanist Lindley, who described this orchid for the first time used quinquevúlnerum as a substantive (Genetivus qualitatis) then this orchid must still be called Aerides quinquevúlnerum, even if the genus name Aerides is regarded as female. Had Lindley used quinquevúlnerum as an adjective it would be Aerides quinquevúlnera. Essentially this refers to subtle grammatical differences - one meaning the "five-spotted" Aerides, the other Aerides "with five spots"] Predominantly in German literature there are some authors who regard Aerides as neutral - they then write Aerides multiflorum Aerides jarckiánum" [source : The Grammatical Gender of Orchid Names in Mayr, Hubert 1998 Orchids Names and their Meanings, page 42]. ************* Regards, Viateur _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
