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183 The naming of organisms (and plant communities)
are transliterated into Latin for use in botanical nomenclature; i.e.
“ά” to “ha”.
spitotype: (zool., unoff.) the type of a taxon described expressly to vex a
colleague (!).
split: of a taxon, to divide into two or more units.
splitter: of a taxonomist, one who employs a narrow circumscriptive
concept and divides taxa into several at the same rank; cfr lumper.
sporomorph, [sporomorpha, spm.; pl. sproromorphae]: (palaeo. bot.,
unoff.) proposed as a neutral term for “pollen and spore species”
given independent scientific names.:
sport: (1) (cult. pl.) an apparent mutation which has occurred on part of a
plant. (2) (zool., unoff., obsol.) an unexpected morph arising
randomly within a species or infraspecific taxon.
SPRA: Statutory Plant Registration Authority (q.v.).
square brackets, ([ . . . . ]) (1) (not nomenclatural) placed around words or
phrases inserted to clarify a quotation taken out of context. (2) in
bibliographic citations, placed around the name of an author to
indicate actual authorship where the work was published
anonymously, or around a date of publication when this is either not
printed on the work or differs from that on the work itself. (3) (bot.)
when followed immediately by an “ex” used to indicate a prestarting
point date author in groups with later starting point dates
than 1753. (4) (phyl.) used to indicate the author of a pre-existing
name that has been converted, e.g. Hypotheticus [Meekins] Larson.
(5) (obsol., bot.) formerly used to indicate pre-starting point date
authors in groups with later starting point dates than 1753. (6)
(unoff.) when used around a term for rank to indicate the rank an
author is assumed to have intended to use even though a term
denoting rank was not used (e.g. Parmelia conspersa [var.]
stenophylla, an epithet originally published as Parmelia conspersa
β. stenophylla); see also taxon vagum. (7) (zool., unoff.) placed
around the epithet of a superspecies in the citation of an allospecies
(q.v.). (8) (prok., unoff.) in Salmonella formulae, used to enclose
antigenic factors not present in every strain of the serotype.