Why ii?

Pitter · Jun 19, 2014

I see that when a species is named after an individual the name is usually modified to end in "ii". Why is that?

Daniel Mosquin · Jun 19, 2014

The recommendation is in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (this portion):

60C.1. When personal names are given Latin terminations in order to form specific and infraspecific epithets, formation of those epithets is as follows (but see Rec. 60C.2):
(a) If the personal name ends with a vowel or -er, substantival epithets are formed by adding the genitive inflection appropriate to the sex and number of the person(s) honoured (e.g. scopoli-i for Scopoli (m), fedtschenko-i for Fedtschenko (m), fedtschenko-ae for Fedtschenko (f), glaziou-i for Glaziou (m), lace-ae for Lace (f), gray-i for Gray (m), hooker-orum for the Hookers (m)), except when the name ends with -a, in which case adding -e (singular) or -rum (plural) is appropriate (e.g. triana-e for Triana (m), pojarkova-e for Pojarkova (f), orlovskaja-e for Orlovskaja (f)).
(b) If the personal name ends with a consonant (but not in -er), substantival epithets are formed by adding -i- (stem augmentation) plus the genitive inflection appropriate to the sex and number of the person(s) honoured (e.g. lecard-ii for Lecard (m), wilson-iae for Wilson (f), verlot-iorum for the Verlot brothers, braun-iarum for the Braun sisters, mason-iorum for Mason, father and daughter).
(c) If the personal name ends with a vowel, adjectival epithets are formed by adding -an- plus the nominative singular inflection appropriate to the gender of the generic name (e.g. Cyperus heyne-anus for Heyne, Vanda lindley-ana for Lindley, Aspidium bertero-anum for Bertero), except when the personal name ends with -a in which case -n- plus the appropriate inflection is added (e.g. balansa-nus (m), balansa-na (f), and balansa-num (n) for Balansa).
(d) If the personal name ends with a consonant, adjectival epithets are formed by adding -i- (stem augmentation) plus -an- (stem of adjectival suffix) plus the nominative singular inflection appropriate to the gender of the generic name (e.g. Rosa webb-iana for Webb, Desmodium griffith-ianum for Griffith, Verbena hassler-iana for Hassler).
Note 1. The hyphens in the above examples are used only to set off the total appropriate termination.
60C.2. Personal names already in Greek or Latin, or possessing a well-established latinized form, should be given their appropriate Latin genitive to form new substantival epithets (e.g. alexandri from Alexander or Alexandre, augusti from Augustus or August or Auguste, martini from Martinus or Martin, linnaei from Linnaeus, martii from Martius, wislizeni from Wislizenus, edithae from Editha or Edith, elisabethae from Elisabetha or Elisabeth, murielae from Muriela or Muriel, conceptionis from Conceptio or ConcepciÃ³n, beatricis from Beatrix or BÃ©atrice, hectoris from Hector; but not â€œcamiâ€ from Edmond Gustave Camus or AimÃ©e Camus). Treating modern family names, i.e. ones that do not have a well-established latinized form, as if they were in third declension should be avoided (e.g. munronis from Munro, richardsonis from Richardson).
60C.3. New epithets based on personal names that have a well-established latinized form should maintain the traditional use of that latinized form.
Ex. 1. In addition to the epithets in Rec. 60C.2, the following epithets commemorate personal names already in Latin or possessing a well-established latinized form: (a) second declension: afzelii based on Afzelius; allemanii based on Allemanius (Freire AllemÃ£o); bauhini based on Bauhinus (Bauhin); clusii based on Clusius; rumphii based on Rumphius (Rumpf); solandri based on Solandrus (Solander); (b) third declension: bellonis based on Bello; brunonis based on Bruno (Robert Brown); chamissonis based on Chamisso; (c) adjectives (see Art. 23.5): afzelianus, clusianus, linnaeanus, martianus, rumphianus, brunonianus, and chamissonianus.
60C.4. In forming new epithets based on personal names the customary spelling of the personal name should not be modified unless it contains letters, ligatures, or diacritical signs that must be transcribed under Art. 60.4 and 60.6.
60C.5. In forming new epithets based on personal names prefixes and particles should be treated as follows:
(a) The Scottish patronymic prefix â€œMacâ€, â€œMcâ€, or â€œMâ€™â€, meaning â€œson ofâ€, should be spelled â€œmacâ€ and united with the rest of the name (e.g. macfadyenii after Macfadyen, macgillivrayi after MacGillivray, macnabii after McNab, mackenii after Mâ€™Ken).
(b) The Irish patronymic prefix â€œOâ€ should be united with the rest of the name (Art. 60.10) or omitted (e.g. obrienii, brienianus after Oâ€™Brien, okellyi after Oâ€™Kelly).
(c) A prefix consisting of an article (e.g. le, la, lâ€™, les, el, il, lo), or containing an article (e.g. du, de la, des, del, della), should be united to the name (e.g. leclercii after Le Clerc, dubuyssonii after DuBuysson, lafarinae after La Farina, logatoi after Lo Gato).
(d) A prefix to a family name indicating ennoblement or canonization should be omitted (e.g. candollei after de Candolle, jussieui after de Jussieu, hilairei after Saint-Hilaire, remyi after St RÃ©my); in geographical epithets, however, â€œStâ€ should be rendered as sanctus (m) or sancta (f) (e.g. sancti-johannis, of St John, sanctae-helenae, of St Helena).
(e) A German or Dutch prefix should be omitted (e.g. iheringii after von Ihering, martii after von Martius, steenisii after van Steenis, strassenii after zu Strassen, vechtii after van der Vecht), but when it is normally treated as part of the family name it should be included in the epithet (e.g. vonhausenii after Vonhausen, vanderhoekii after Vanderhoek, vanbruntiae after Van Brunt).

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Pitter · Jun 19, 2014

Thank you Daniel. Now I know.

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Why ii?

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