[Taxacom] Spelling help sought

[Jan Bosselaers]

This is indeed correct. In Stearn's Botanical Latin we read: "The Greeak 
"rachis" ("spine, bacbone, ridge", used by Theophrastus for the midrib 
of an oak leaf) should properly be transliterated as rhachis, but has so 
commonly been rendered as rachis...that retention or omission of the h 
is optional in all these..."

Jan Bosselaers

>At 02:41 PM 9/12/2007, john.steel at botany.otago.ac.nz wrote:
>
>>I have been asked for an explanation for the use of 'rachis' v. 
>>'rhachis'.  Stace uses
>>'rhachis', but I seldom see it spelled this way today.  .
>>
>
>Without looking or knowing much Greek, I think the original Greek root had 
>a "spiritus asper" (a rough exhalation) on the initial "rho".  The spiritus 
>asper is supposed to be transliterated as an "h" but this often was often 
>ignored.
>
>
>Thomas G. Lammers, Ph.D.
>
>Associate Professor and Curator of the Herbarium (OSH)
>Department of Biology and Microbiology
>University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
>Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901-8640 USA
>
>e-mail:       lammers at uwosh.edu
>phone:      920-424-1002
>fax:           920-424-1101
>
>Plant systematics; classification, nomenclature, evolution, and 
>biogeography of the Campanulaceae s. lat.
>
>Webpages:
>http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/Lammers.htm
>http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/herbarium/herbarium.html
>http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Resort/7156/lammers.html
>-----------------------------------------------------------
>"Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that stood his ground."
>                                                               -- Anonymous
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>

-- 
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Dr. Jan Bosselaers
"Dochterland", R. novarumlaan 2
B-2340 Beerse, Belgium               tel / fax 32-14-615896
home: dochterland at pandora.be  /  hortipes at dochterland.org    
work: jbossela at janbe.jnj.com
web: http://www.dochterland.org/ or http://wyith.ch/home/dochterland.org/

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