Beginning with Plumier. Tradescantia zanonia, Mexican Flag, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Charles Plumier (1646-1704) - great French plant collector and naturalist especially in the tropical Americas - was the first to use surnames for the scientific description of plants. He's the first, too, to have described what we today call Tradescantia zanonia. That name has retained as its specific Plumier's genus; he called this plant Zanonia graminea perfoliata. Zanonia is for Giacoma Zanoni (1615-1682), well-known Italian botanist. Carolus Linnaeus renamed it, again using a surname, Commelina zanonia, re-using the Zanoni specific. The Commelina is for uncle and nephew Jan (1629-1692) and Caspar (1647-1734) Commelijn, well-known and influential Dutch botanists. Among their many professions they also directed the Amsterdam Hortus. Another name change occurred in 1797. Olof Peter Swartz (1760-1818) decided on the name Tradescantia, again retaining zanonia. The Tradescantia is for father and son - both called John - Tradescant (1570-1638, 1608-1662) - influential English botanists. Linnaeus had already established the name Tradescantia but Swartz applied it to this plant.
No doubt unaware of this nomenclatural issues, Mexican Flag flourishes in the Hortus.
Beginning with Plumier. Tradescantia zanonia, Mexican Flag, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Charles Plumier (1646-1704) - great French plant collector and naturalist especially in the tropical Americas - was the first to use surnames for the scientific description of plants. He's the first, too, to have described what we today call Tradescantia zanonia. That name has retained as its specific Plumier's genus; he called this plant Zanonia graminea perfoliata. Zanonia is for Giacoma Zanoni (1615-1682), well-known Italian botanist. Carolus Linnaeus renamed it, again using a surname, Commelina zanonia, re-using the Zanoni specific. The Commelina is for uncle and nephew Jan (1629-1692) and Caspar (1647-1734) Commelijn, well-known and influential Dutch botanists. Among their many professions they also directed the Amsterdam Hortus. Another name change occurred in 1797. Olof Peter Swartz (1760-1818) decided on the name Tradescantia, again retaining zanonia. The Tradescantia is for father and son - both called John - Tradescant (1570-1638, 1608-1662) - influential English botanists. Linnaeus had already established the name Tradescantia but Swartz applied it to this plant.
No doubt unaware of this nomenclatural issues, Mexican Flag flourishes in the Hortus.