When Carl Linnaeus Meets T.S. Eliot
6d ago
binomial nomenclaturebotanyparodyT.S. EliotThe Naming of Cats
Texas bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) on the Willow City Loop
I’ve always considered the phrase “flash of inspiration” to be mostly metaphorical, but it perfectly describes a recent experience. In the course of responding to my current post about Ferdinand Lindheimer on Lagniappe, Curt Mekemson said, “I find it appropriate and interesting that naturalists get to add their name to discoveries.”
In a flash, the phrase “the naming of plants” came to mind. It recalled T.S. Eliot’s wonderful poem, “The Naming of Cats.” In my response to his comment, I told Curt there was a parody demanding to be written, although I wasn’t certain Carl Linnaeus’s system of categorizing plants by genus and species could be contained in the form of a poem, and the fact that plant names are given in Latin only added to the challenge.
Nevertheless, the thought of having a little fun with binomial nomenclatur