The Vocabulary of Orchids: An Amateur Perspective.

287 Pages·2011·1.48 MB·English

The Vocabulary of Orchids: An Amateur Perspective.

Allen B.Martin

© Copyright 2005 A.B.Martin
A famous saying:
“God, give me the strength and tenacity of a weed.”
I’d like to change that from “weed” to “orchid”!

Acknowledgments

I am most grateful for the use of the World Checklist of Orchids (2003) and the World
Checklist of Monocotyledons (2004), taken from the website, with the permission
of the Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. See the bibliography.

Phoenix. I could not have achieved my goal without my new friend and next-door
neighbour, a knowledgeable amateur botanist and former computer teacher.
What a stroke of luck, that fate brought us together. My word-processor had
packed it in, I couldn’t get access to more books, was totally computer illiterate
and so, my work had come to a screeching halt. He taught me how to use the
computer (sufficient for my needs), found and down-loaded the orchid list on the
internet (from the Royal Botanic Gardens, of Kew, England) and was always
there when I needed him to fix my many foul-ups. I’d hit the wrong buttons,
then go cold, “yaaaaah, what have I done?, Phoenix, help!” A simple “thank
you” could never cover my eternal gratitude.

Mr.Roy Gifford of Umina: an orchidologist of “the old school”, a Bulbophyllum addict
and a gentleman. I thoroughly enjoyed our lengthy discussions over the years
and am extremely grateful for his generous openness with his extensive personal
library.

The staff of Woy Woy & Gosford Public Libraries. I’m sure they thought I was quite
mad, but you couldn’t wish to meet nicer people. They bent over backwards, far
beyond duty, in their efforts to locate books for me.

The staff of the Library, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, for their courteous
consideration and assistance. The few times I visited the library they treated me
like an eminent professor, not like a nobody.

Dedications
To my dear wife, Yvonne, for her tolerant patience and understanding, as over the years
I bounced my ideas off her. She knew what this work meant to me and that I was
totally committed (and thinks I probably should be!).

To my good friends and collecting mates, Jim Tolbert, Peter Luxford and Doug Digance,
long gone to happier (orchid) hunting grounds. I know they would have revelled
in being involved with this work.
Preface

“The Vocabulary of Orchids. An Amateur Perspective.” The title is not to disparage
amateurs, it’s because I am very much an amateur and only wish I had the
information, that I have gathered and set out within, c35 years ago. Sometimes,
there may seem to be a lot of repetition, but each entry is different and I did it
especially for those who are looking for an explanation to the way the word is
spelt (ie., for line, or finger-followers, like me).

Within is my interpretation of a long list of mostly incomprehensible words pertaining
to “orchids”. I have tried to translate as literally as possible and give you as
accurately as I can, the meaning and/or etymological explanation of the
individual words concerned and with most, I try to give an example of its use,
creating a useful reference.

When you open the book, anywhere, you’ll probably say “Hey, he can’t do that!”
because I’ve listed every word alphabetically, regardless of its status. The
method in my madness being that I’m not attempting to be botanically scientific,
I am simply trying to determine what the words mean. With many good books
the author will give a small Glossary, but it never tells me what I want to know,
ie. especially, what does the full generic name mean and possibly, why is it so
named?

This book came about mainly from frustration, as many authors will give with their
discussions, a brief, generally accepted explanation of the genus (the first word in
the name), but very seldom do they explain the specific epithet (: the descriptive
adjective, or the second word in the name). Plus they use so many technical,
botanical terms of which the average person hasn’t any chance of deciphering
(and believe me, I was very average!).

What I need is a dictionary, glossary, or whatever, that explains everything in lay-man’s
language and where possible, completely cross-referenced. The old adage: you
want something done, then do it yourself. Hmmm., and so the monster grew!

Often throughout the text, I am unable to determine exactly what the author is referring
to eg., cuneata is from Latin, cuneus: a wedge + with the suffix, means it has some
part(s) likened to a wedge. What, or where is the wedge?, if I can find out by
wading through the technical description, most times only written in Latin (in
which, I had no formal training, whatsoever), then I will notate my entry
accordingly. Sometimes an author makes a word relatively easy to understand,
eg., cuneilabia: wedge + lip. The labellum was likened to a wedge (shape), good,
now we all know what it means.
Why is an axis a peduncle and/or a rachis? Why is a raceme an inflorescence? and if so,
why is it a racemose inflorescence? I can assure you I almost went nuts over
these items and had about a dozen shots at attempting to get them right, I kept
on going around in circles. It’s easy to define them separately, but when I
grouped them together, they didn’t make sense. I hope I now have them all right,
see the separate section on inflorescences, at end of “I”.

As I started this list I ran into all sorts of trouble. How can cera be: wax and cera: a horn?
aha!, one’s ex Latin and the other, ex Greek. For more confusion the Greek word,
keras is “Latinized” to become ceras and is used in combination words (my
abbreviation: combwds.) as -cera, -cerum, cerato-, -ceratus, etc.: horn; horned;
having, or like a horn, etc. Then to make it even more interesting, 3 or 4 Greek
words can be “Latinised” and shortened into one. Ouch, talk about Double
Dutch! Please remember I have everything cross-referrenced, so if I use a word
you don’t understand, just turn to the relevant entry.

I found many things which made me shake my head in wonder... Speaking of worms,
did you know they have bristles?, well I didn’t (see chaeta) and that a “sphinx” is
a type of moth (see sphingoides), etc. What’s this got to do with orchids?, keep
going dear reader... Would you believe, our word orchid, is originally from an
ancient Greek word meaning: testes (of interest, see Theophrastus). I thought for
sure formosum meant it had to come from Formosa (wrong!); tinea is a nasty
smelly growth between your toes, right?, wrong again! Words like fornicatus,
vaginatum, etc., I (mentally) gleefully rubbed my hands together and thought
“this’ll shock ‘em!”. Wrong, wrong, wrong! However, I laughed ‘till it hurt over
cynosorchoides, longipenis and was totally perplexed with the likes of alopecurus,
hippocrepiferum, Hexalectris and how about words you know in English, like:
echidna, platypus, rhinoceras, mastodon, pelican, etc. There’s so many more named
for people, places, fabled monsters, snakes, lizards, birds, dragons, fictional
characters from novels, trees, many insects, animals, plants and flowers, etc.
Interested in dinosaurs?, we even have a Stegosaurus (see stegasaurum),
Triceratops (see “T”) and also included is another small note on a flying dinosaur
(a pterodactyl, see Campsomeris).

Scattered throughout, I have put in a lot of anecdotes and trivia (there’s another Latin
word that’s entirely different to what you think, see trivia, triviale) to try to make
it more enjoyable. eg., Do you know the biggest killer of all domestic cultivated
plants?, it’s TLC. (see “T”). How many seeds in a pod (correctly: capsule, see
“seed”)?, what is the smallest?, what is the tallest?, plus some items you’d not
dream of looking for, like “prices” and “plastic bags”(see “P”).
There are many hundreds I had to leave out from lack of information and I am a little
disappointed as I have only achieved c25,000 entries. So many of the names, I
missed are of people and places, perhaps another volume some day?

To further enhance the enjoyment of your collection, try this little exercise: list all of the
botanical names of your plants and then write alongside the meanings of same. If
I have missed any of your pets, then try to determine the meanings by taking bits
from other similar ones I have listed. This will help you to learn “correct names”,
so that when you’re in company you wont be embarrassed by this type of
scenario: “ah, er.., it’s a spider orchid, you know?... The one that....”! Most
common names are hopeless as there are probably so many around, all bearing
the same “common name”. Another idea, for your club’s newsletter: have an
“educational” paragraph (or, page). Get a list from each member and then
translate them, a few at a time. I haven’t attempted anything on pronunciation
as this subject can take a lengthy book on its own and is well covered by many
eminent authors (and when you know what the words mean, they are so much
easier to pronounce). To learn the language I suggest you join a club, listen and
don’t be ashamed to ask questions. I always found learned orchidists and
orchidologists (don't know the difference?, see “O”) mostly very tolerant of
(serious) new-chums, as they had to learn as well. I recall, I completely baffled
“a more learned colleague” when I was trying to tell him of a Coelogyne species I
had found, by pronouncing it phonetically as co-ee-log-ine and he almost had
hysterics when he realised what I was trying to say! He apologised for laughing
at me and then helped me to find its “correct name” (it was Coelogyne asperata,
see Coelogyne).

Plus of course, read books and here, I have to praise and recommend “Botanical Latin”
x William T.Stearn and “Composition of Scientific Words” x Roland Wilbur
Brown. They certainly don’t cover every word and there were thousands that I
had to find on my own, but without the assistance of these wonderful works my
amateurish effort would have been a dismal failure.

I know I’ve learned a lot and hope you find your favourites here, but I have not
attempted to dabble with any “fancy epithets” (see “F”), of hybrids, it’s too hard!
Perhaps some erudite orchidologist will take this on, with my best wishes. What
a job, I understand the current guesstimation is that they are nearing 250,000.
Plus, over the years with all the name changes..., this would truly be a magnum
opus (: a great work). You know, I really kick myself these days, as at school, I
said “I don’t want to be a doctor, so of what use is a dead mediaeval language,
like Latin, to me?” (and of course, I took another option).

What I have done in this text, is as much for my benefit as yours. I have tried to explain,
in English, the meaning of as many words that I found I could explain with some
degree of credibility, by showing I’ve done the homework and not just copied
other authors’ work (and I often dispute them, some examples, see Aristotelea,
Corybas, gnomonifera, etc.). Sometimes I modify other’s definitions with
(hopefully) a better detailed explanation.

This text can’t be called a dictionary, or encyclopaedia, as it’s mostly (but not
specifically) a glossary, which is defined as: a vocabulary of obscure, or technical
words, or those needing special explanation. I decided to use the word
vocabulary (in the title), as its definition seems to be precisely what I am
attempting to achieve. Vocabulary: the words of a language, presented in a
“word-book”, arranged in alphabetical order and fully explained (... well ... as
best as I possibly can). Isn’t this exactly what we do need? and hopefully this will
be a useful reference to all, as you “tip-toe through the testicles ... er, tulips ... ah,
er... ORCHIDS!”

Best wishes,
Allen B.Martin. 7/26 Gladys Manley Ave., Kincumber, NSW., Aust. 2251.
7th Sept.1994- 1st Nov.2005.
Abbreviations

Many are further explained in the main listings.

abbr.: abbreviated; abbreviation.
accr.: accredited.
admin.: administration, administrative.
aka.: also known as.
AM.: univ.graduate (+ can be honorary) title: (Artium Magister) Master of Arts.
approx.: approximately.
Aust.: Australia; Australian. With ex: ex Aust.= of, or from Australia.
av.: average.

Bart.: Baronet.
bio.: of biology; biological.
Bot., bot.: of botany; botanical.

c: circa: around; about.
Cal.: California state, USA.
cf.: ex Lat., conferre: to bring together; confer; refer to.
CITES.: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
cms.: centimetres.
combwd(s).: combination word(s). Two or more words adapted and Latinized to form
the one word.
compwd(s).: word(s) used in composition with another to form the one word, (usually)
of the same language.
Czech.: Czechoslovakia(-n).

date: eg., 8/’72: August 1972.
DD.: Doctor of Divinity.
def.: define; defined; defines; definition.
desc(s).: described; describes; describing; description(s).
desc.x: (taxonomically) described by.
descwd(s).: descriptive word(s). Used in descriptions, discussions.
dimin.: diminutive. Having many connotations to “small”.
(DRC.): Democratic Republic of Congo.

eastn.: eastern.
eg.: ex Lat., exempli-gratia: for example; for instance.
encyclop.: encyclopaedia.
Eng.: England; English. With ex: ex Eng.= of, or from England, or from the English
language.
equiv.: equivalent.
esp.: especially.
Est., est.: established.
et al: ex Lat., and others.
ex: of; from; taken from.
expl(s).: explained; explanation(s).
etc.: ex Lat., et cetera: and the others; and so on.
etym.: of etymology; etymological.

f., fem.: female, feminine.
fig.: figurative(-ly).
fl.: for Lat. floruit (see the entry): when a person was active; flourished (followed by a
year).
FLS.: Fellow of the London Society (Eng.).
Fr.: France; French.
FRHS.: Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society (Eng.).
FRS.: Fellow of the Royal Society (Eng.).
FRZS.: Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society (Eng.).
ft.: foot: 12 inches: 30cms. Only as a unit of measurement.

G.: genus; genera.
geo.: of geology; geological(-ly).
geog.: of geography; geographical(-ly).
Gk.: Greek. With ex: ex Gk. = of, or from Greece, or from the Greek language.
Gk.myth.: Greek mythology.

hort., Hort.: of horticulture; horticultural. Hort., after a generic name = a common term,
see “H”.

ie.: ex Lat., id est = that is.
inc.: included; includes; including; inclusive.
Indon.: Indonesia(-n). With ex: ex Indon.= of, or from the Republic of Indonesia.
inflo(s).: inflorescence(s).
info.: information.
Isl., Isls.: Island, Islands.

lab., labs.: laboratory(-ies).
Lat.: Latin. With ex: ex Lat.= of, or from the Latin language.
Lat’d.: Latinized. With combwds., or compwds.: adapted to look and sound like Latin.
lit.: literal(-ly).
lit.trans.: literally translated.

m.: male.
MA.: univ. graduate degree: Master of Arts.
MD.: Medical Doctor.
mms.: millimeters.
MP.: Member of Parliament.
Mt., Mtn(s)., mtn(s).: Mount; Mountain(s); mountain(s).
myth.: of mythology; mythological.

natcross: natural cross (naturally occuring in the bush).
NB.: ex Lat., notra bene: note well.
New Guinea: is not an abbreviation, but I use it to describe the whole island, ie. both
Papua, Indon. and PNG. (inc. their ajacent islands).
nne.: north north east.
No.: number.
N.Park: National Park.
NSW.: Aust. state = New South Wales.
NT.: Aust. territory = Northern Territory.
nth., nthn.: north; northern.
NZ.: New Zealand.

opp.: opposed to; opposite.
orig.: original(-ly); originating. With ex: orig.ex = originally from; originating from.
orig.coll.: original collector; originally collected.

pers.coll.: personally collected. Or (was) in my personal collection.
Philipp.: Philippine. With ex: ex Philipp.= of, or from the Philippines.
pl.: plural.
p’bulb(s).: pseudobulb(s).
PM.PNG.: Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea.
PNG.: Papua New Guinea.
Prof.: Professor.
Prov.: Province.
pub.: to do with publishing, published, etc.

Qld.: Aust. state = Queensland.

RBG.: Royal Botanic Garden(s).
ref(s).: refer(s); reference(s); referred; referring.

Sc.D.: ex Lat., Scientiae Doctor: univ. graduate title = Doctor of Science.
sing.: singular.
sp.: species (singular).
specep.: specific epithet. Second part of the binomial; the descriptive adjective, etc., see
“S”.
spp.: species (plural).
ssp.: sub-species.
SSR.: Soviet Socialist Republic.
sth., sthn.: south; southern.
Sth.Aust.: Aust. state = South Australia.
syn.: synonym; synonymity (with); synonymous (to).

Tas.: Aust. state = Tasmania.
Thai.: Thailand. With ex: ex Thai.= of, or from Thailand.
t/fd.: transferred.
TOSPNG.: The Orchid Society of Papua New Guinea. Est. 5/1/’72.
trop.: tropical; tropics.
typ.error: typing or typographical error.

Univ.: University.
USA.: United States of America.

Vic.: Aust. state = Victoria.
viz: anglicised ex Lat., videlicet = that is to say; namely.
westn.: western.
West.Aust.: Aust. state = Western Australia.
WWI, WWII: World War I, World War II.
x: by; described by; crossed with (as a cross, or hybrid, etc.).
yrs.: years.
zool.: of zoology; zoological.

Other symbols and phrases.:-
& al: sometimes used by other authors, see et al.
&/or: and/or.
+: plus; also.
(?): not certain (and there are many of these!).