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Editorial

Latin names: Gravitas ad infinitum

  January 30, 2012

Since Jan. 1, newly discovered plant species no longer need to be fully described in Latin to be considered valid, as they have been for centuries. A major impetus for the change was time: species are disappearing faster than they can be officially named and described. But that same trend may also be an argument for keeping at least the names themselves in Latin. The practice might seem a bit stuffy, but it lends a kind of timeless gravity to species, sending a message that even the littlest shrub has a claim on the eternal.

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