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Title: (385-388) Proposals to amend Art. 32.2, 23.5, and 24.2 to clarify the treatment of transcribed Greek terminations of epithets

Author
item Wiersema, John
item GANDHI, KANCHI - Harvard University

Submitted to: Taxon
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/17/2016
Publication Date: 10/27/2016
Citation: Wiersema, J.H., Gandhi, K.N. 2016. (001–002) Proposals to amend Art. 32.2, 23.5, and 24.2 to clarify the treatment of transcribed Greek terminations of epithets. Taxon. 65:1195-1196.

Interpretive Summary: The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants is revised every six years to incorporate decisions of the Nomenclature Section of successive International Botanical Congresses (IBC). The Nomenclature Section considers and decides upon proposals to amend the rules that govern the scientific names of plants. The proposals in this paper will be considered at the IBC in Shenzhen, China in 2017, and seek to clarify the use of Greek endings in species names that are not currently covered in the rules. This lack of clarity has created confusion. Some workers have converted these to Latin endings, while others have retained the Greek, leading to different spellings being used for the same name. Current usage supports keeping the Greek endings, so proposals to allow for this are submitted in this publication.

Technical Abstract: The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants is revised every six years to incorporate decisions of the Nomenclature Section of successive International Botanical Congresses (IBC) on proposals to amend the Code. The proposals in this paper will be considered at the IBC in Shenzhen, China in 2017, and seek to provide guidance on the treatment of transcribed Greek terminations in specific and infraspecific epithets that is not currently dealt with in the Code. While such guidance is provided for names with Latin terminations, no mention is made of Greek terminations, so these have been retained by some workers or converted to Latin by others, creating differences in spelling for the same name. An analysis of current usage is provided that supports retention of these Greek endings, so some proposals to provide the necessary basis for this in the Code are submitted.