Question about taxonomy

Discussion in 'Plants: Nomenclature and Taxonomy' started by valis, May 27, 2010.

  1. valis

    valis Member

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    I've wondered for the longest time, and this seems the best place to ask the question.
    I only took a year of Latin, but is "speciosa" really just a nice way of saying "some sort of"? In other words, does Catalpa speciosa just mean "some sort of catalpa", but no one's worked out the details?
     
  2. chimera

    chimera Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    According to Stearn's "Botanical Latin'', speciosus is an adjective meaning "showy, splendid", but speciosa wasn't found in the book.
     
  3. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    That's just gender - speciosa is the feminine form of speciosus.
     
  4. chimera

    chimera Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Thanks Michael, thought the meanings might be similar, but hadn't thought of gender.
     

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