[pbs] Re: Tulipa orithyioides and T. pulchella (more dwarf tulips)
Jim McKenney
jimmckenney at starpower.net
Tue Mar 2 11:19:11 EST 2004
Mark McDonough wrote:
>Curious to learn what the epithet "orithyioides" indicates, the only thing I
>could find is a bit of greek mythology: "Orithia (or Oreithyia) was a
daughter
>of the Amazon Queen Marpesia.
I have not checked out Vvedensky's notes, but here's my guess:
The form of the word, orithyi + oides, suggests that it is named for or
being compared to something else: is there, for instance, a Tulipa
orithyia? If so, then orithyioides indicates a similarity to that putative
species.
Incidentally, the spelling of the word is unorthodox: four separately
pronounced vowel sounds in a row (y, i, o, i; remember, oi in Latin does
not equal oi in English ) is very peculiar. A more traditional orthodox
spelling would be orithyjoides, where the j represents not the sound of the
English j but the "consonental i sound" (like j in German).
But don't forget that botanists don't have to follow traditional grammar -
they have their own rules.
In addition to the great story Mark told about the name, I can add a bit
more (but nothing to equal Amazon Queens): the name orithyia looks like it
comes from the words for mountain and a resinous tree, juniper or cedar for
instance. That's an apt name for someone who shows resliiance and
determination.
Here's a sort of mnemonic: the part of the name which refers to the cedar
is thyia. Most of you know this as Thuja. Greek upsilon is sometimes given
as u and sometimes given as y. For an explanation of the j, see above. If
you pronounce Thuja as thoo-ya, this might make more sense.
Jim McKenney
jimmckenney at starpower.net
Montgomery County, Maryland zone 7 where we had light rain this morning and
are now enjouing temperatures above 60 degrees F.
At 10:53 PM 3/1/2004 EST, you wrote:
>The two photos recently posted to the Pacific Bulb Society - Tulipa page are
>terrific. I have comments on each. The photos are located at:
>http://www.ibiblio.org/pbs/pbswiki/index.php/Tulipa
>
>The photo by Jane McGary of Tulipa orithyioides Vved. has me intrigued. The
>plant looks akin to T. polypetala, with white flowers, yellow center, and
>backs of outer tepals an olive color suffused mauve-ish. But the
similarity ends
>there as surely the stiffly upright foliage and more starry flowers render a
>distinctive look apart from polychroma. Based on an IPNI search, I come up
>with the spelling "orithyioides" for the species. It's hard to tell from
the
>photo, but I must ask; Jane, are the stems multiflowered? If so, perhaps
it's in
>the Biflores section similar to T. polychroma. Also, are the flowers
>scented? T. polychroma is heavenly perfumed.
>
>Curious to learn what the epithet "orithyioides" indicates, the only thing I
>could find is a bit of greek mythology: "Orithia (or Oreithyia) was a
daughter
>of the Amazon Queen Marpesia. When her mother was killed by Asian
barbarians,
>her mother's position fell to her. She forged an alliance with Sagillus,
King
>of Scythia, who sent his son with an army to help Orithia avenge her
mother's
>death." Is there a relation between this and the species name?
>
>Dave Brastow posted a gorgeous photo of Tulipa pulchella var humilis...
>thanks Dave! The naming of this species is contentious, most often seen
the way
>Dave labeled it. I think today it is recognized as T. pulchella (Fenzl at
>Regel) Baker. But horticulturally, there are two distinct forms, one with
blue to
>black centers, and another with yellow centers. I believe these are
analogous
>to Hoog & Dix's Tulipa humilis 'Violacea Black Base" and T. humilis
"Violacea
>Yellow Base" respectively, but I'm just guessing. Anyone care to attempt
>clarifying the naming of the tulips in the "humilis" alliance?
>
>
>Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States
>antennaria at aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5
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