Who has an AHS or RHS answer for this?

(Or any other nationally-recognized authority on plant names, for that matter.)

I have a message in the helpdesk queue telling us that Hortus III is wrong - Capparaceae should be Capparidaceae.

Unfortunately, I am without a handy copy of AHS or RHS or Hortus, so all I can go on is what I see on the web. Which *seems* to indicate that Capparaceae is correct/more up-to-date and Capparidaceae is the misspelled/outdated form.

But I'd prefer to get some other input here. Will you please drag out those big ole books and help me get a quick answer to this one? (I'm soooooo embarassed that I still don't have my own copy of Hortus, let alone the AHS or RHS books. Bad, bad go_vols :(

Hi go_vols, Capparidaceae is found in the 1998 update of "How to Identify Flowering Plant Families" AND in "Botanica" revised 1999.

In "Herbaceous Ornamental Plants" 1994 Steven M. Still uses Capparaceae.

It seems as though the AHS and RHS spelling would be sufficient. It must be on the web somewhere.

It's not in the RHS AHS encyclopedia, the only possible genus member listed is now in another family *G*. Another book of mine says it's Capparidaceae

Kew Gardens - Capparaceae

However, http://bodd.cf.ac.uk/BotDermFolder/BotDermC/CAPP.html

Baa, that should settle it. Great link!

Thanks Golddog

I often come across the Botanical Dermatology Database in a search and they usually have some good information.

Thanks, Baa - I had come across that one, too; which was one that led me to believe Capparaceae was correct. This one seems pretty authoritative too: http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Colleges/LFSC/life_sciences/.plant_biology/pb450/dill10.html

And the USDA PLANTSdatabase uses Capparaceae. I'm feeling a bit more confident (and starting to piece back together my memories of an internal struggle I had over this one a looong time ago, lolol.)

Carr uses it too; so I think Capparaceae should be correct:)

http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/cappar.htm

Pleasure!

I had a poke about in the RHS site and they have both family names ... well of course they are both valid just one is out of date (but they don't tell you that *G*)

In case anyone wondered how the story turned out, I used some of the links provided here, and this excerpt:

"...It must be noted that in the older literature, and incorrectly in even some present-day works, the family name is spelled "Capparidaceae" and the order "Capparidales." I have listened to the Greek and Latin scholars discuss this matter, and William T. Sterns once slowly went over the subtle differences with me as to why it is Capparaceae based on Capparis and yet it is Oxalidaceae based on Oxalis. The bottom line is the orthography Capparaceae is conserved in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (the first place the spelling was used) and as such must now be followed..."
(from http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Colleges/LFSC/life_sciences/.plant_biology/pb450/dill10.html)

to defend our use of Capparaceae as the correct family name. The person who contested this spelling graciously apologized in his reply; apparently after he researched it some more, he agreed his source was wrong, and Capparaceae is the correct family name. Thanks, everyone!!!