Talk:Dracula orchid

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[edit] the name

Is the derivation of the name given here correct? Draco is a masculine noun, while -ula is a feminine ending. Other masculine nouns ending in -o (e.g. leo, homo) use the diminutive ending -culus (leunculus, homunculus), and the form dracunculus is attested in Pliny's Natural History as well as in Linnaeus's name for tarragon (which I believe he got from Pliny). Does anyone have the original reference, and if so, did Carlyle Luer explicitly say that the name is from the Latin? —Charles P. (Mirv) 22:19, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Re: The Name

Charles - I think you are right about "Dracula" not being Latin. I have Luer's Icones Pleurothallidinarium X - Systematics of Dracula in front of me. Here's the excerpt from the Etymology section for the genus dracula:

"The name Dracula, literally meaning a little dragon, and by insinuation, a vampire, satisfies the inclusion of Chimaera as well as other draconian and chiropteran epithets applied to these species."

Nowhere does Luer state that Dracula is latin for "little dragon". Refer to the Vlad III Dracula wiki for the Romanian origins of the word "dracula". Because of this, I recommend that the description for this entry be updated to remove the reference to the latin origins of the word "dracula". Thus, I also need to update the description on my website, www.draculaspecies.com.--Wsarles 16:27, 21 February 2006 (UTC)