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Leesburg Virginia 20175
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Fun with Orchid Names, part II: Phragmipedium klotzschianum or klotzscheanum

It’s Phrag. klotzchianum.  Really.  No matter what the books tell you.  Get the spelling correct the first time. It’s takes a minimum of 150 years to correct published mistakes.  That’s bureaucracy for you….

Selenipedium klotzscheanum Rchb. f. in Xenia Orch., Vol. 1, 3, 1854

In another post, (linked here), I asked readers to come up with the Latin name of a Phrag species using the adjectival commemorative epithet.  I asked you all to name a Phrag for a man named Klotzsche following the rules found in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature that guide taxonomists in such endeavors. I was working backward from a real species name found in print as Phragmipedium klotzscheanum.   Using the rules I deconstructed the epithet back to somebody named Klotzsche and included it in my ‘quiz’.  In botanical Latin Phragmipedium klotzscheanum translates to Klotzsche’s Phragmipedium. So it is easy to conclude that there was somebody named Klotzsche who was being honored with an orchid species named for him/her.

In the original description, Reichenbach honored Dr. Johann Friedrich Klotzsch, by naming his new species
Selenipedium klotzscheanum with an incorrect ”-eanum” ending. (This genus name was later changed and changed again but let’s not go there yet). We are concerned with the incorrect spelling of the second name in the species binomial that made it into print during the original publication.

The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature says that original spellings have priority but it also states that names with
incorrect Latin endings should be corrected. Reichenbach did fix the error in subsequent publications but even today 150 years later, the incorrect spelling still shows up.

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 6:27 pm in my Red Tag Journal where I post interesting things and pretty pictures. If it is not also found in my Online catalog and Shopping Cart., by searching the name or tag number, then it is NOT FOR SALE.

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