CA-CH

       In the following names, the stressed vowel is the one preceding the stress mark. It is not always
       easy to ascertain where such stress should be placed, especially in the case of epithets derived
       from personal names. I have tried to follow the principle of maintaining the stress of the original
       name as outlined in the Jepson Manual, and have abandoned it only when it was just too awk-
       ward. In the case of some names, I have listed them twice, reflecting either some disagreement or
       conflict in the rules of pronunciation, some uncertainty on my part as to the correct pronunciation,
       or that simply sometimes there is no single correct pronunciation. In other instances, the way I
       record it is just that which sounds right to my ear.

• Cabom'ba: derived from a native name in Guiana (ref. genus Cabomba)
• Cacaliop'sis: like genus Cacalia (ref. genus Cacaliopsis)
• caelesti'num: heavenly, having to do with the heavens, named due to the high elevation location of this taxon (ref. Eriogonum ovalifolium var. caelestinum)
• caeru'lea/caeru'leum: blue (ref. Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea, Polemonium caeruleum [now occidentale])
• caerules'cens: bluish or tinted with blue
• Caesalpin'ia: named after Andrea Cesalpino (1519-1603) of Italy. The following is quoted from the Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03545c.htm) entry on Cesalpino: "A physician, philosopher, and naturalist, distinguished above all as a botanist; born at Arezzo in Tuscany, Italy, 6 June, 1519; died at Rome, 23 February, 1603. For his studies at the University of Pisa his instructor in medicine was R. Colombo (d. 1559), and in botany the celebrated Luca Ghini (d. 1556). After completing his course he taught philosophy, medicine, and botany for many years at the same university, besides making botanical explorations in various parts of Italy. At this time the first botanical gardens in Europe were laid out; the earliest at Padua, in 1546; the next at Pisa in 1547 by Ghini, who was its first director. Ghini was succeeded by Cesalpino, who had charge of the Pisan garden 1554-1558. When far advanced in years Cesalpino accepted a call to Rome as professor of medicine at the Sapienza and physician to Pope Clement VIII. It is not positively certain whether he also become the chief superintendent of the Roman botanical garden which had been laid out about 1566 by one of his most celebrated pupils, Michele Mercati (1541-1593). All of Cesalpino's writings show the man of genius and the profound thinker. His style, it is true, is often heavy, yet in spite of the scholastic form in which his works are cast, passages of great beauty often occur. Modern botanists and physiologists who are not acquainted with the writings of Aristotle find Cesalpino's books obscure; their failure to comprehend them has frequently misled them in their judgment of his achievement. No comprehensive summing up of the results of Cesalpino's investigations, founded on a critical study of all his works has appeared, neither has there been a complete edition of his writings. Seven of these are positively known, and most of the seven have been printed several times, although none have appeared since the seventeenth century. In the following list the date of publication given is that of the first edition. His most important philosophical work is "Quaestionum peripateticarum libri V" (Florence, 1569). Cesalpino proves himself in this to be one of the most eminent and original students of Aristotle in the sixteenth century. His writings, however, show traces of the influence of Averroes, hence he is an Averroistic Aristotelean; apparently he was also inclined to Pantheism, consequently he was included, later, in the Spinozists before Spinoza. A Protestant opponent of Aristotelean views, Nicholas Taurellus (d. 1606, at Altdorf), who is called "the first German philosopher", wrote several times against Cesalpino. The work of Taurellus entitled "Alpes caesae", etc. (Frankfort, 1597), is entirely devoted to combating the opinions of Cesalpino, as the play on the name Caesalpinus shows. Nearly one hundred years later Cesalpino's views were again attacked, this time by an Englishman, Samuel Parker (d.1688), in a work entitled: "Disputationes de Deo et providentiâ divinâ" (London, 1678). Cesalpino repeatedly asserted the steadfastness of his Catholic principles and his readiness to acknowledge the falsity of any philosophical opinions expounded by him as Aristotelean doctrine, which should be contrary to revelation. In Italy he was in high favour both with the secular and spiritual rulers. Cesalpino's physiological investigations concerning the circulation of the blood are well known, but even up to the present time they have been as often overestimated as undervalued. An examination of the various passages in his writings which bear upon the question shows that although it must be said that Celsalpino had penetrated further into the secret of circulation of the blood than any other physiologist before William Harvey, still he had not attained to a thorough knowledge, founded on anatomical research, of the entire course of the blood. Besides the work "Quæstionum peripateticarum" already mentioned, reference should be made to "Quaestionum medicarum libri duo" (Venice, 1593), and to his most important publication "De plantis libri XVI" (Florence, 1583). This last work has made Cesalpino immortal; the date of its publication, 1583, is one of the most important in the history of botany before Linnaeus. The permission to print the book is dated 27 September, 1581. The work is dedicated to the Grand Duke Francesco de Medici; including dedication and the indexes, it contains some 670 quarto pages, of which 621 are taken up with the text proper. Unlike the "herbals" of that period, it contains no illustrations. The first section, including thirty pages of the work, is the part of most importance for botany in general. From the beginning of the seventeenth century up to the present day botanists have agreed in the opinion that Cesalpino in this work, in which he took Aristotle for his guide, laid the foundation of the morphology and physiology of plants and produced the first scientific classification of flowering plants. Three things, above all, give the book the stamp of individuality: the large number of original, acute observations, especially on flowers, fruits, and seeds, made, moreover, before the discovery of the microscope, the selection of the organs of fructification for the foundation of his botanical system; finally, the ingenious and at the same time strictly philosophical handling of the rich material gathered by observation. Cesalpino issued a publicatlon supplementary to this work, entitled: "Appendix ad libros de plantis et quaestiones peripateticas" (Rome, 1603). Cesalpino is also famous the history of botany as one of the first botanists to make a herbarium; one of the oldest herbaria still in existence is that which he arranged about 1550-60 for Bishop Alfonso Tornabono. After many changes of fortune the herbarium is now in the museum of natural history at Florence. It consists of 260 folio pages arranged in three volumes bound in red leather, and contains 768 varieties of plants. A work of some value for chemistry, mineralogy, and geology was issued by him under the title: "De metallicis libri tres" (Rome, 1596). Some of its matter recalls the discoveries made at the end of the eighteenth century, as those of Lavoisier and Hauy, it also shows a correct understanding of fossils. The Franciscan monk, Karl Plumier (d. 1704), gave the name of Cesalpinia to a species of plants and Linnaeus retained it in his system. At the present day this species includes not over forty varieties and belongs to the sub-order Caesalpinioideae (family Leguminosae), which contains a large number of useful plants." (ref. genus Caesalpinia)
• cae'sius: light blue (ref. Penstemon caesius)
• caespiti'tius: growing in carpet-like patches
• caespito'sa/caespito'sum/caespito'sus: caespitose, having a densely-clumped, tufted or cushion-like growth form, with the flowers held above the clump or tuft (ref. Dudleya caespitosa, Eschscholzia caespitosa, Oenothera caespitosa ssp. marginata, Vaccinum caespitosa, Eriogonum caespitosum, Petrophyton caespitosum, Lupinus caespitosus)
• cair'ica: of or from Cairo, Egypt (ref. Ipomoea cairica)
• Ca'kile: an old Arabic name for this plant (ref. genus Cakile)
• Calamagros'tis: from the Greek kalamos, "a reed or stalk," and agrostis, "grass or weed," (ref. genus Calamagrostis)
• calamin'tha: from the Greek name for savory, kalaminthe, from kalos, "beautiful," and minthe, "mint" (ref. Satureja calamintha)
• ca'lamus: from the Greek kalamos, "a reed or stalk" (ref. Acorus calamus)
• Calandrin'ia: named for Jean Louis Calandrini (1703-1758), a professor of mathematics and philosophy, and a botanical author in Switzerland (ref. genus Calandrinia)
• calcara'tus: spurred
• calcar'eus: chalky white, or growing on chalky soil (ref. Penstemon calcareus)
• calceolifor'mis: from the Greek calceolus, "slipper," thus a flower (presumably) in the form or shape of a slipper (ref. Suaeda calceoliformis)
• calcico'la: from the Latin calcis, "lime, chalk," and the -cola suffix indicating "a dweller of," thus a n inhabitant of limy soils (ref. Dudleya calcicola)
• calcitra'pa: from the Latin calcitro, "to kick," caltrop, a four-pointed weapon usually positioned on the ground to impede enemy movements (ref. Centaurea calcitrapa)
• Calen'dula: from the Latin calendae for "calender," and an allusion to this plant's long flowering season (ref. genus Calendula and species Arctotheca calendula)
• Calibracho'a: named for Mexican botanist and pharmacologist Antonio de la Cal y Bracho (1766-1833) (ref. genus Calibrachoa)
• calidipet'ris: this is only a conjecture, but the name may derive from the roots calid, "warm," and petris, "rocks," since one of the described habitats for this species is lava beds (ref. Erigeron inornatus var. calidipetris)
• calienten'sis: from the Caliente Hills in Kern County (ref. Clarkia tembloriensis ssp. calientensis)
• Califor'nia: see next entry (ref. genus California)
• califor'nica/califor'nicum/califor'nicus: of or from California (too many references to list)
• Callian'dra: from the Greek kallos, "beautiful," and andra, "stamen" (ref. genus Calliandra)
• callian'themus: having beauiful flowers
• callicar'pha: from the Greek kallos, "beautiful," and karphos, "a splinter, twig, chaff, straw," of uncertain application (ref. Hulsea vestita ssp. callicarpha)
• cal'lida: from the Latin callidus, " experienced, skillful, cunning" (ref. Ivesia callida)
• cal'lii: after Dr. Tracey Gillette Call (1915-1994) and his wife Viola Ruth Clifton Call (1920-2002) who taught laboratory classes at Cal Poly in the Biological Sciences Department. David Hollombe sent the following from Who's Who in the West: "Call, Tracey Gillete, educator; born Afton, Wyoming, May 31, 1915; A.B., Brigham Young Uuniversity, 1947; B.S., Idaho State College, 1940; M.S., University of Maryland, 1944; Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1956; married Viola Ruth Clifton, Jan. 27, 1941; assistant professir of pharmacognosy and pharmacology at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, 1945-1946; assistant professor at University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1947-1949; associate professor at Montana State University, Missoula, 1949-1957; Research Department, Sunkist Growers, Inc., Corona, California, 1957-1961; project director W.L.R.I., Colton, California, 1961-62; professor of biology at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 1962- ; fellow, American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education; member of the American Society of Pharmacognosy, Society for Economic Botany, N.Y., California Academy of Sciences; member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." Discovered this taxon with his wife (ref. Angelica callii)
• calliopsid'ea: having the form or appearance of genus Calliopsis (ref. Coreopsis calliopsidea)
• Callis'temon: from the Greek kalli or kallos, "beautiful," and stemon, a stamen, in reference to the extraordinary beauty of the flowers of this genus (ref. genus Callistemon)
• callis'tum/callis'tus: very (most) beautiful (ref. Eriogonum callistum, Streptanthus callistus)
• Calli'triche: from the Greek kallos, "beautiful," and trichos, "hair," because of the beautiful stems (ref. genus Callitriche)
• Callitrop'sis: resembling Callitris, an Australian genus of conifers in the Cupressaceae, which derives from the Greek kalli, "beautiful," and treis or tria, "three," referring to the three-leaved whorls (ref. genus Callitropsis)
• callo'sa: having a hard skin, calloused (ref. Collinsia callosa)
• Caloced'rus: from the Greek kallos, "beautiful," and kedros, "cedar," thus meaning "beautiful cedar" (ref. genus Calocedrus)
• Calocho'rtus: derived from the Greek word kallos for "beautiful" and chortus, "grass," referring to the grassy leaves (ref. genus Calochortus)
• Cal'tha: a Latin name for the marigold (ref. genus Caltha)
• calthifo'lia: having leaves like those of the genus Caltha, in England called marsh-marigold and in America sometimes also referred to as cowslip (ref. Phacelia calthifolia)
• cal'vus: bald, hairless, naked
• Calycaden'ia: from the Greek kalyx, "cup or covering," and aden, "gland," alluding to the cuplike calyx (ref. genus Calycadenia)
• Calycan'thus: from the Greek kalyx, "calyx," and anthos, "flower," and referring to the similarity between the sepals and petals (ref. genus Calycanthus)
• calycin'a/calycin'um: calyx-like, with a persistent calyx (ref. Ehrharta calycina, Lepechinia calycina, Sagittaria calycina, Hypericum calycinum)
• calyco'sa/calyco'sum/calyco'sus: having a full calyx (ref. Sidalcea calycosa, Centaurium calycosum, Astragalus calycosus)
• Calycos'eris: from the Greek kalux, "cup," and seris, a chicory-like genus (ref. genus Calycoseris)
• calycula'ta: from the Latin calyculus, "a small flower bud"
• Calyp'so: named for the sea nymph Calypso or Kalypso, daughter of Atlas, who entertained Odysseus for seven more or less involuntary years during his voyage home from the Trojan Wars but was finally persuaded to let him go when Zeus sent Hermes to intervene on his behalf (ref. genus Calypso)
• Calyptrid'ium: from the Greek kaluptra, a cap or covering, because of the way the petals close over the caps (ref. genus Calyptridium)
• Calyste'gia: from two Greek words kalux, "cup," and stegos, "a covering," and thus meaning "a covering cup" (?) (ref. genus Calystegia)
• camaldulen'sis: referring to the Camaldoli Garden near Naples in Italy (ref. Eucalyptus camaldulensis)
• cam'ara: a South American vernacular name for a species of Lantana (ref. Lantana camara)
• Camas'sia: from native American words Camas and quamash for "sweet" in reference to the importance of this plant as a food source (ref. Camassia quamash)
• Camelin'a: from the Greek camai, "dwarf," and linon, "flax," the common name for the genus being false-flax. This is an example of the term "dwarf" being used in the sense of "false." Another example is the genus Chamaecyparissus, the common name of which is false cypress (ref. genus Camelina)
• Camisson'ia: named for Ludolf Karl Adelbert von Chamisso (1781-1838), who was a botanist on the ship Rurik which visited California in 1816, and who named the California poppy for his friend Dr. Johann Friedrich Gustav von Eschscholtz. He was born French with the name Vicomte de Chamisso and baptized Louis Charles Adélaïde and later in Prussia took the name Adelbert. He spent several years in the Prussian army. In 1818 after returning he was made custodian of the botanical gardens in Berlin, and was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences. The following is quoted from the Encyclopaedia Britannica Online (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9022340): "...one of the most gifted lyricists of the Berlin Romanticists and best remembered for the Faust-like fairy tale Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte (1814; Peter Schlemihl's Remarkable Story). When he was nine, Chamisso's family escaped the terrors of the French Revolution by taking refuge in Berlin. After abandoning his native French language for German, Chamisso published his first works in the Berliner Musenalmanach, which he coedited from 1804 to 1806. In 1804 he founded the Nordsternbund, a society of Berlin Romanticists. From 1807 to 1808 Chamisso toured France and Switzerland, participating in the literary circle of Madame de Staël. In 1814 Chamisso published the peculiar tale of Peter Schlemihl, which, more than any other work, won lasting recognition for its author. The story of a man who sold his shadow to the devil, it allegorized Chamisso's own political fate as a man without a country. Though rewarded with an inexhaustible purse, Schlemihl soon discovers that the lack of a shadow involves him in unexpected difficulties. He refuses, however, an offer to restore the shadow in exchange for his soul and instead, with the help of a pair of seven-league boots, wanders through the world searching for the peace of mind he has bartered away. [This story influenced Hans Christian Andersen's "The Shadow"] Chamisso's early poetry—as, for example, the cycle of poems Frauen-Liebe und Leben (“Woman's Love and Life”), set to music by Robert Schumann—depicted simple emotions with a sentimental naïveté common to German Romantic verse of the period. His narrative ballads and poems, such as “Vergeltung” (“Reward”) and “Salas y Gomez,” sometimes inclined to bizarre and mournful subjects. Chamisso's later poetry, however, became more realistic and was praised by the poet Heinrich Heine. Many of these later poems were patterned after the political lyrics of the French poet Pierre-Jean de Béranger, whose works Chamisso translated in 1838. Because these translations, together with his own imitations, helped to introduce the element of political lyricism into German poetry, Chamisso is considered by many critics to be the forerunner of the political poets of the 1840s. Chamisso was also a noted scientist involved in the discovery of the metagenesis of certain mollusks and a philologist known for his studies of Australasian languages. When he was botanist on a scientific voyage around the world (1815–18), he kept a diary, Reise um die Welt mit der Romanzoffischen Entdeckungs-Expedition (1836; “Voyage Around the World with the Romanzov Discovery Expedition”), which became a classic of its kind." (ref. genus Camissonia)
• campaniflor'a: with bell-shaped flowers
• campanular'ia: bell-flowered or bell-shaped, like Campanula, the bellflower (ref. Phacelia campanularia ssp. campanularia)
• campanula'ta/campanula'tum/campanula'tus: bell-shaped (ref. Allium campanulatum, Linanthus campanulatus)
• campes'tre/campes'tris: of the fields or open plains (ref. Acer campestre, Camissonia campestris, Cuscuta campestris, Microseris campestris, Streptanthus campestris)
• camphora'tum: pertaining to or resembling camphor (ref. Tanacetum camphoratum)
• campor'um: relating to or having the odor of camphor (?) (ref. Grindelia camporum)
• camp'ylon: bent, curved
• campylopo'dum: with a curved or bent stem or stalk (ref. Arceuthobium campylopodum)
• ca'na/ca'num/ca'nus: ash-colored, gray, hoary (ref. Artemisia cana, Epilobium cana, Gilia cana, Hazardia [formerly Haplopappus] cana, Epilobium canum ssp. latifolium, Tanacetum canum, Ranunculus canus, Senecio canus)
• canaden'sis: of or referring to Canada (ref. Calamagrostis canadensis, Conyza canadensis, Lactuca canadensis)
• canarien'se/canarien'sis: of the Canary Islands (ref. Genista canariensis, Hypericum canariense, Phalaris canariensis, Phoenix canariensis)
• Can'bya/can'byi: after William Marriott Canby (1831-1904), a Delaware businessman, philanthropist and avid botanist. "Canby worked with such luminaries as naturalist John Muir, Charles Sprague Sargent of Harvard's Arnold Arboretum, taxonomist Asa Gray and landscape architect Frederic Law Olmsted. He corresponded with Charles Darwin, whom he inspired to finally finish a work on their mutual interest, insectivorous plants. Canby “fires me up” said Darwin. Canby established one of the finest herbariums in America, sold it, and then created another that he donated to the Natural History Society of Delaware, of which he was the first president (from the website of the Morton Arboretum, http://www.mortonarb.org/index.html, in Lisle, Illinois) (ref. genus Canbya and Lomatium canbyi)
• candela'brum: like a branched candlestick (ref. Dudleya candelabrum)
• can'dicans: white (ref. Echium candicans, Monardella candicans)
• can'dida: shining or pure white (ref. Canbya candida, Githopsis diffusa ssp. candida)
• candidis'simum: very white
• canes'cens: covered with short gray or white hairs (ref. Atriplex canescens, Cordylanthus canescens, Dicoria canescens, Geraea canescens, Gnaphalium canescens ssp. microcephalum, Dieteria canescens var. canescens, Plagiobothrys canescens, Tetradymia canescens, Tiquilia canescens var. canescens, Trisetum canescens)
• canifol'ium: from the Latin canus, "gray," and folium, "leaf," referring to the leaf color (ref. Eriogonum umbellatum var. canifolium)
• canin'a: from Dog Valley, eastern Sierra County (ref. Ivesia aperta var. canina)
• canin'a/cani'num: with sharp teeth or thorns (ref. Eriogonum luteolum var. caninum)
• canna'binum: hemp-like (ref. Apocynum cannabinum)
• canovi'rens: greenish-white or gray-green (ref. Cirsium canovirens)
• cantelov'ii: after Herbert Clair Cantelow (1875-1965). Who's Who in the West (1960) gives the following information: "Cantelow, Herbert Clair, transportation exec.; born Vaca Valley, Cal., July 24 1875; son of William and Adaline (Pond) Cantelow; graduated Comml. High School, San Francisco; married Ella Dales Miles, Dec. 31, 1896; 1 son, E. Miles (deceased). Executive, Kosmos Line, also Pacific Mail S.S. Co., Pacific Coast S.S. Co., and Admiral Line, 1904-1922; Vice-president., Pacific Coast manager, Luckenbach S.S. Co., 1922-27; general manager, Alaska S.S. Co., 1928-1932; chairman, Pacific Coast Lumber & S.S. Confs., 1939-1940; chairman, Marine Terminal Association of Central California, Oakland, 1937--. Mayor, Ross, California, 1938-1942; Member Chamber of Commerce (past Director, past Vice-president.), Waterfront Employers Association (past pres. in Seattle and in Cal.)." He began as a freight clerk with Oregon Railway and Navigation Co. Early directories show him working there and as head of H. C. Cantelow Fruit Company. Obituaries also mention that he was a member of the Photographic Society of America and the Berkeley Camera Club and a life member of the California Academy of Sciences. He and his wife together collected the type of Lewisia cantelovii. (ref. Lewisia cantelovii)
• cantharifor'me: possible from the Greek root kantharos, "drinking cup" probably for the short, wide, cup-shaped hypanthium, thus "cup-shaped" (ref. Ribes canthariforme)
• ca'nus: off-white, ashy-colored
• capen'sis: of or from the Cape of Good Hope (ref. Tecomaria capensis)
• capera'ta: wrinkled
• capilla'ceus: resembling hair, very slender (ref. Ranunculus aquatilus var. capillaceus)
• capilla're/capilla'ris: hair-like (ref. Panicum capillare, Agrostis capillaris, Bulbostylis capillaris, Gilia capillaris, Nemacladus capillaris)
• capil'lipes: slender-stalked
• capil'lus-ven'eris: from two Greek words referring to "hair" and "Venus," hence "Venus-haired" (ref. Adiantum capillus-veneris)
• capita'ta/capita'tum/capita'tus: capitate, refers to the way the flowers form in a head-like cluster (ref. Gilia capitata ssp. abrotanifolia, Dichelostema capitatum, Eriodictyon capitatum, Erysimum capitatum, Polygonum capitatum, Physocarpus capitatus)
• capitella'ta/capitella'tum: having a small head (ref. Rhynchospora capitellata, Sphenosciadium capitellatum)
• capparid'eum: from the Greek kapparis, a kind of plant (the caper), and the suffix -ideum, denoting similarity (ref. Tropidocarpum capparideum)
• capreola'ta: having tendrils (ref. Fumaria capreolata)
• Capsel'la: Latin for "a little box" (ref. genus Capsella)
• ca'put-medus'ae: caput is a form of the words capitis or capitulum for "head or head-like," and of course Medusa was a mythic monstrous figure, one of the three Gorgons, whose hair was living snakes and whose gaze could turn people to stone (ref. Taeniatherum caput-medusae)
• caracasa'na: of or from Caracus, Venezuela (ref. Alternanthera caracasana)
• Caraga'na: a Mongolian name (ref. genus Caragana)
• Cardam'ine: originally from the Greek kardamis for a kind of cress (ref. genus Cardamine)
• Cardar'ia: Greek for "heart-shaped," from the fruit (ref. genus Cardaria)
• cardina'le/cardina'lis: red, possibly referring to the color of the garb worn by cardinals (is it only a coincidence that the red bird is called a cardinal?) (ref. Delphinium cardinale, Lobelia cardinalis var. pseudosplendens, Mimulus cardinalis)
• Cardione'ma: from the Greek cardia, "heart," and nema, "thread," because of the inversely cordate stamens (ref. genus Cardionema)
• cardiophyl'la: with heart-shaped leaves (ref. Camissonia cardiophylla, Lepechinia cardiophylla)
• cardua'cea: thistle-like (ref. Salvia carduacea)
• cardun'culus: resembling a small thistle (ref. Cynara cardunculus)
• Car'duus: the classical Latin name for thistle (ref. genus Carduus)
• Car'ex: the classical Latin name (ref. genus Carex)
• car'ica: the Latin name carica, derived from the Greek karike, which was a kind of fig, was given to the papaya, or paw paw because of the latter's fig-like leaves. Stearns further suggests that the name refers to an area in Asia Minor called Caria, where figs were extensively cultivated. Ficus carica is the common edible fig (ref. Ficus carica)
• carina'ta/carina'tum/carina'tus: keeled somewhat like a boat, referring to the shape of seeds or flowers (ref. Valerianella carinata, Chrysanthemum carinatum, Bromus carinatus var. carinatus, Bromus carinatus var. maritimus)
• Carlowright'ia: for American botanist Charles (Carlos) Wright (1811-1885), see wrightii (ref. genus Carlowrightia)
• Carlquis'tia: after Sherwin Carlquist (1930- ) who studied botany at the University of California, Berkeley, with postdoctoral study at Harvard University. He has specialized in studies on plant anatomy (chiefly wood anatomy) and island biology (7 books, nearly 300 scientific papers). He had a successful career, especially in teaching and research, as a professor at Pomona College and Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, California. He was co-author in 2003 with Bruce Baldwin and Gerald D. Carrs of Tarweeds and Silverswords: Evolution of the Madiinae (Asteraceae), and author of Island Life; a Natural History of the Islands of the World, Comparative Plant Anatomy; a Guide to Taxonomic and Evolutionary Application of Anatomical Data in Angiosperms, The Genus Fitchia (Compositae), Hawaii, a Natural History: Geolegy, Climate, Native Flora and Fauna Above the Shoreline, and others (ref. genus Carlquistia)
• car'nea: flesh-colored
• Carne'giea: named after the internationally renowned Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). The following is quoted from Virtualology.com (http://www.andrewcarnegie.net/): "Andrew Carnegie was an American who owned industries and was charitable. At age 33 he had an annual income of $50,000. He said, 'Beyond this, never earn, make no effort to increase fortune, but spend the surplus each year for benevolent purposes.' Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland. He went to the U.S. in 1848 and began work short after his arrival as a threading machine attendant in a cotton mill in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He got paid $1.20 a week. In 1849 he became a messenger in a Pittsburgh telegraph office. He was next employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad as a private secretary to Thomas Alexander Scott. Carnegie got promoted many times until he was superintendent of the Pittsburgh part of the railroad. He invested in what is now called the Pullman Company and in oil land near Oil City. During the Civil War he served in the War Department under Thomas Alexander Scott. Scott was in charge of military transportation and government telegraphs. After the war was over he went and formed a company that makes iron railroad bridges. He founded a steel mill and was one of the first people to use the Bessemer process. In 1899 he put all of his interests together in the Carnegie Steel Company. He was responsible for almost 25% of the American iron and steel production. In 1901 he sold his company to the United States Steel Corp. for $250 million dollars. He then retired. Carnegie never received a formal education during his childhood but donated more then $350 million dollars to many different educational, cultural, and peace organizations. His first gift was in 1873. His largest gift was in 1911 for $125 million dollars to the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He also donated money for the construction of what is now the International Court of Justice for the United Nations at The Hague, Netherlands. Carnegie was honored throughout his lifetime." (ref. genus Carnegiea)
• car'neum: flesh-colored, deep pink (ref. Galium hilendiae ssp. carneum, Polemonium carneum)
• carno'sa: fleshy, from the Latin carnosus, "fleshy, pulpy" (ref. Jaumea carnosa, Layia carnosa, Machaeranthera carnosa)
• carno'sula/carno'sulum: from the Latin carnosus, "fleshy," and the diminutive suffix ula, thus "somewhat fleshy" (ref. Draba carnosula, Porterella carnosula, Chenopodium carnosulum)
• carolinia'na/carolinia'num/carolinia'nus: of or from Carolina (ref. Modiola caroliniana, Phalaris caroliniana, Prunus caroliniana, Geranium carolinianum, Alopecurus carolinianus)
• carolinien'sis: see previous entry (ref. Trautvetteria caroliniensis)
• caro'ta: Latin name for carrot, derived from the Greek karoton (ref. Daucus carota)
• carotif'era: normally I would think this name just from its parts would mean something like "bearing carrots or having carrot-like structures," but that doesn't seem to make sense. However, Orange County botanist Bob Allen referred me to Bob Hoover's book, The Vascular Plants of San Luis Obispo County, CA, in which S. carotifera (now considered a ssp of exigua) is described as having a fleshy root, stouter than the base of the stem (Bob Allen says "I'm sure it resembles a carrot but he doesn't come out and say that, except for in the name.") (ref. Stephanomeria exigua ssp. carotifera)
• Carpenter'ia: after Professor William Marbury Carpenter (1811-1848), a Louisiana physician and botanist (ref. genus Carpenteria)
• carpesio'ides: like Carpesium, referring to the similarity between the flower heads of Vengasia and the buds of Carpesium, a plant in the Everlasting tribe of the Asteraceae (ref. Venegasia carpesioides)
• carphoclin'ia: from the Greek words karphos for "a small dry object, splinter, twig" and kline, "bed," and thus somewhat obscure (ref. Chaenactis carphoclinia var. carphoclinia)
• Carpobro'tus: derived from two Greek words, karpos, "fruit," and brotus, "edible," referring to the fruits which are edible (ref. genus Carpobrotus)
• -carpum/-carpus: from the Greek karpos, "fruit" (ref. Ceanothus megacarpus, Eremocarpus setigerus, Marah macrocarpus, and many others)
• Carson'ia: an old genus that was morphed by Edward Greene into Cleome sparsiflora in 1900. The type locality for this taxon was the Carson Valley of Nevada (ref. genus Carsonia)
• carthamo'ides: resembling genus Carthamus (ref. Pyrrocoma carthamoides)
• Cartha'mus: from the Arabic quartom, qurtum or qurtom meaning "to paint," alluding to the colors of the flowers or the extracted dye from sp. tinctorius (ref. genus Carthamus)
• caruifo'lia/caruifo'lium: "caraway-leaved" after genus Carum (ref. Saltugilia caruifolia, Lomatium caruifolium)
• caryophyl'lea: probably walnut-leaved (ref. Aira caryophyllea)
• caryophyllo'ides: the suffix -oides indicates likeness or resemblance, so this means "resembling caryophyllus," a name which derives from the Greek karyophyllon, in turn from karya or kaura, "walnut," and phyllon, "a leaf," referring to the aromatic odor of walnut leaves, which led to this name being applied both to the carnation, Dianthus caryophyllus, and to the clove, Caryophyllus aromaticus. Incidentally, there was a goddess associated with Artemis named Karya or Karia who was sometimes referred to as the "walnut goddess," but she disappeared from mythology soon after the Greeks invaded what is now Greece. There is also a village in Greece named Karya famous for its walnut groves. This name has come down to us as the genus of the walnut tree, Carya, and is used as part of at least 14 other generic names around the world, and is of course the root of the family name, Caryophyllaceae. Thanks to Scott Earle of Larkspur Books (http://www.larkspurbooks.com/) for his input with regard to this name (ref. Oxytheca caryophylloides)
• cascaden'sis: of the Cascades (ref. Sorbus scopulina var. cascadensis)
• casea'na/cas'ei: after Eliphalet Lewis Case (1843-1925), friend of John Gill Lemmon who assisted him on some of his early collecting trips. He was a schoolteacher and civil war veteran. In 1902 he was elected Treasurer of Sierra County and held that office until his death by suicide. However, it was later discovered that he had gotten deeply into debt and had stolen $20,000 in county funds." (ref.
  Corydalis caseana, Astragalus casei)
• Cas'sia: from an ancient Greek name Kasia used by Dioscorides (ref. former genus Cassia now named Senna)
• Cassi'ope: in Greek mythology the mother of Andromeda, hence the use of the name for a genus related to the genus Andromeda (ref. genus Cassiope)
• Caste'la: after René Richard Louis Castel (1759-1832), a French botanist, poet and editor (ref. genus Castela)
• castan'ea: chestnut-colored (ref. Helianthella castanea)
• Castille'ja: named for Professor Domingo Castillejo (1744-1793), a Spanish botanist and instructor of botany at Cadiz, Spain (ref. genus Castilleja)
• castlegaren'sis: after Castlegar, British Columbia. The Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon reports that this name was given because this taxon was particularly common on the grounds of Selkirk College in Castlegar (ref. Crataegus castlegarensis)
• castor'eum: from the Greek kastor, "the beaver," this name refers to the odorous secretion of the beaver, of unknown application, perhaps of a similar smell (ref. Pediomelum castoreum)
• castren'se: from castrensis, which my Latin dictionary defines as "of the camp, military." The type locality for this taxon was called Chinese Camp (ref. Eryngium castrense)
• catalin'ae: from Catalina Island, referring to the first collected specimen (ref. Arctostaphylos catalinae, Calochortus catalinae)
• catalinen'se: see catalinae above (ref. Galium catalinense)
• catar'ia: pertaining to cats (ref. Nepeta cataria)
• catena'ta: chained, fettered, the common name of this taxon in the Jepson Manual is chain speedwell (ref. Veronica catenata)
• Catharan'thus: from the Greek katharos, "pure," and anthos, "flower" (ref. genus Catharanthus)
• cathar'ticus: from the Greek katharos, "pure," or kathartes, "a purifier, a cleanser," thus purgative, cathartic (ref. Bromus catharticus)
• Cauca'lis: ancient classical name (ref. genus Caucalis, also Anthriscus caucalis)
• cauda'ta/cauda'tum/cauda'tus: with a tail, usually referring to the shape of the inflorescence (ref. Pericome caudata, Salix caudata, Asarum caudatum, Alternanthera caudatus, Lupinus caudatus)
• Caulan'thus: from the Greek kaulos, "stem," and anthos, "flower," alluding to cauliflower, since some ssp. can be used like it (ref. genus Caulanthus)
• caules'cens: with a stem (ref. Hesperevax caulescens, Mitella caulescens)
• -caulis: stemmed
• caul'on: a stem
• Caulostram'ina: from the Greek kaulos, "stalk or stem," and stramen, "straw," thus meaning "having a straw-colored stem" (ref. genus Caulostramina)
• cauria'na: the closest I can come to this is the Latin Caurus, the northwest wind, from which comes the word caurinus, "of the northwest wind or northwestern." The suffix -ana is often given to a proper name to convert it into an adjectival commemorative epithet to be attached to a generic name that is feminine in gender, but I have been unable to determine whether Caurus was a feminine name. This taxon inhabits the Sierras and north to Oregon and Alaska so that would fit (ref. Lonicera cauriana)
• caurin'a: from the Latin caurinus, "of the northwest wind, northwestern" (ref. Listera caurina)
• cav'ernae: from Latin caverna, "a cave or hollow" (ref. Oenothera cavernae)
• ceano'thi: relating to Ceanothus, this being one of the species that Cuscuta parasitizes (ref. Cuscuta ceanothi)
• Ceano'thus: from the Greek keanothus, a name which was used for some spiny plant (ref. genus Ceanothus)
• Cedronel'la: a diminutive of the Latin cedrus or kedros, a cedar (ref. genus Cedronella)
• cedrosen'sis: I can only think that this refers to Cedros Island off the coast of Baja California (ref. Astragalus nuttallianus var. cedrosensis)
• -cellus: adjectival suffix used as a diminutive
• Cel'tis: a Greek name for some other tree (ref. genus Celtis)
• Cen'chrus: Umberto Quattrocchi says "Greek kenchros "millet"; Latin cenchros, used by Plinius for an Arabian diamond or an unknown kind of precious stone big as a grain of millet" (ref. genus Cenchrus)
• Centaur'ea/Centaur'ium: from the Latin and a reference to the Centaur Chiron who was supposed to have discovered the medicinal uses of a plant in Greece that came to be called Centaury (ref. genera Centaurea and Centaurium)
• centran'thera: "This is unlike any Pedicularis that I know of, and is distinguished by its awned or spurred anthers from all known species except P. grandiflora Fisch., with which it has little else in common." (Asa Gray in John Torrey, Bot. Mex. Boundary, p. 120) (ref. Pedicularis centranthera)
• centranthifo'lius: having leaves like Centranthus, a genus of the valerian family (ref. Penstemon centranthifolius)
• Centran'thus: from two Greek words kentron, "a spur," and anthos, "flower," and referring to the flower having a spur-like base (ref. genus Centranthus)
• Centroma'dia: from kentron, "a spur or prickle," and the genus Madia, of uncertain application (ref. genus Centromadia)
• Centroste'gia: from the Greek kentron, "a spur," and stegos, " a covering of some type," or stegon, "roof," hence a spurred cover, from the arched saccate spurs at the base of the involucre (ref. genus Centrostegia)
• Centun'culus: Umberto Quattrocchi states that this is derived from the Latin centunculus, meaning "a small patch," and was a name used by Pliny for a species of Polygonum like knotweed (ref. genus Centunculus)
• Cephalan'thera: from the Greek kephale, "head," and anthera, "anther," thus meaning "head-like anther" (ref. genus Cephalanthera, formerly in Eburophyton)
• cephalan'thi: David Hollombe contributed the following: "Engelmann wrote that it grew "On Cephalanthus; also on Vernonia, Aster, Boehmeria, and other plants (especially Compositae,) on the margins of ponds and swamps near St. Louis, where it is the most common species. I have observed it since 1833, but have only met with it in the immediate vicinity of Cephalanthus" (ref. Cuscuta cephalanthi)
• Cephalan'thus: from the Greek kephale, "head," and anthos, "flower," the flowers are borne in compact rounded heads like those of a chrysanthemum or dahlia (ref. genus Cephalanthus)
• cephalophor'a/cephalophor'us: from the Greek kephale, "head," and the suffix -phorus, meaning "to carry or bear" (ref. Carex cephalophora, Penstemon heterodoxus var. cephalophorus)
• cerasifor'mis: shaped like a cherry (ref. Oemleria cerasiformis)
• Ceras'tium: from the Greek keras, "a horn," referring to the shape of the seed capsule (ref. genus Cerastium)
• Ceraton'ia: from keratonia, keronia and/or keratea, Greek names for the carob-tree, Ceratonia siliqua (ref genus Ceratonia)
• ceratophor'um: having or bearing a horn or horns (ref. Taraxacum ceratophorum)
• Ceratophyl'lum: from the Greek keras, "a horn," and phyllon, "leaf," alluding to the stiff and narrow leaf divisions, this is a genus often called hornwort (ref. genus Ceratophyllum)
• Cercid'ium: from the Greek kerkidion, "a weaver's shuttle," and descriptive of the woody fruits (ref. genus Cercidium)
• Cer'cis: from kerkis, the ancient Greek name for the redbud (ref. genus Cercis)
• Cercocar'pus: from the Greek kerkos, "tail," and karpos, "fruit," an allusion to the tail-shaped achene (ref. genus Cercocarpus)
• cerea'lis: pertaining to agriculture, from Ceres, the Goddess of agriculture(ref. Secale cerealis)
• cerefo'lius: waxy-leaved
• cer'eum/cer'eus: from Latin cereus for "waxy" (ref. Ribes cereum)
• cerif'era/ceriferum: wax-bearing
• cerin'us: waxy
• cer'nua/cer'nuum/cer'nuus: drooping, nodding (ref. Arnica cernua, Bidens cernua, Nassella cernua, Eriogonum cernuum, Trisetum cernuum)
• cerumino'sa/cerumino'sus: from the New Latin cerumen meaning earwax, from Latin cera, "wax". Cerumen is a yellowish, waxlike secretion from certain glands in the external auditory canal, i.e. earwax. Most of the rubber rabbitbrushes have involucres that appear to be coated in a viscid or waxy substance (ref. Ericameria [formerly Chrysothamnus] nauseosa ssp. ceruminosa)
• cervia'na: possibly fawn-colored or tawny (ref. Mollugo cerviana)
• cervin'us: tawny, like a deer (ref. Erigeron cervinus, Lupinus cervinus)
• cespito'sa: alternate spelling of caespitosa (ref. Deschampsia cespitosa)
• Ces'trum: from the Greek kestron, "point, sting, graving tool", name used by Dioscorides for some member of the mint family (ref. genus Cestrum)
• Chaenac'tis: from the Greek chaino, "to gape," and aktis, "a ray," thus meaning a gaping ray, and given because in many species the outer florets are enlarged into a wide-open flaring raylike mouth (ref. genus Chaenactis)
• Chaetadel'pha: from the Greek chaete, "bristle," and adelphe, "sister," referring to the united or fused bristles of the pappus (ref. genus Chaetadelpha)
• Chaetopap'pa: from the Greek chaete or chaite, "bristle, mane, crest or foliage," and pappos, "pappus, fluff or downy appendage," and meaning loose, flowing hair from the pappus of barbed bristles (ref. genus Chaetopappa)
• chalapen'sis: thanks to herbalist John Dunne-Brady who provides the following two possibilities for this name, the -ensis ending of which is a Latin adjectival suffix usually used to indicate country of origin, place of growth or habitat: "Usually: (1) of Aleppo, Alep, or Haleb, a city in northwestern Syria about eighty miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea; also: aleppica, aleppicum, aleppicus, and halepensis; rarely: (2) of Halepa, in Greek: Khalepa, a city in Greece on the island of Crete near Canea" (ref. Cardaria chalapensis)
• chamae-: from the Greek meaning "on the ground, lowly, creeping." Jaeger's Source-book of Biological Names and Terms also make the following note: "in botany, chamae- sometimes signifies "false" although I don't think that meaning applies to any of the names below (ref. genera Chamaebatiaria, Chamaesyce, Chamaebatia)
• Chamaebat'ia: from the Greek chamae, "low," and batos, "a bramble" (ref. genus Chamaebatia)
• Chamaebatiar'ia: resembling Chamaebatia (ref. genus Chamaebatiaria)
• Chamaecyp'aris/chamaecyparis'sus: from the Greek chamae, "dwarf, low-growing, or growing on the ground" and kyparissos, "cypress," meaning "dwarf or ground cypress." Herbalist John Dunne-Brady adds that the genus Chamaecyparis was named "by the French botanist Edouard Spach (1801-1879) and published in 1841 in the eleventh volume of Historie Naturelle des Vegetaux Phanerogames." He states further that this is "an inaccurate and inappropriate description because all species are erect and some grow as high as 120 feet" (ref. genus Chamaecyparis and Santolina chamaecyparissus)
• Chamaecy'tisus: dwarf Cytisus (ref. genus Chamaecytisus)
• chamae'drys: from the Greek chamai, "on the ground, dwarf," and drys, "oak," apparently used by Theophrastus for some low-growing plant with oak-like leaves (Stearn's Dictionary) (ref. Veronica chamaedrys)
• Chamae'melum: from the Greek chamai, "low, dwarf," and melon, "an apple," meaning "earth-apple" (ref. genus Chamaemelum)
• chamaenerio'ides: from the root chamai, "low-growing, dwarf" added to "something that look like genus Nerium" (ref. Camissonia chamaenerioides)
• Chamaesar'acha: from the Greek for "low or dwarf" and Saracha, a South American genus in the family Solanaceae (ref. genus Chamaesaracha)
• Chamaesy'ce: an ancient Greek name for a kind of prostrate plant (ref. genus Chamaesyce)
• cham'bersii: after chemist Thomas Seal Chambers (1911- ). Thanks to David Hollombe for the following information: "A.B. Swarthmore, A.M. Harvard 1933; PhD Harvard 1940; fellow CalTech 1936-37; consultant for Arthur D. Little, Inc. 1939-1940; lecturer Bryn Mawr, 1940; research chemist Standard Oil Development. Co. 1940-1944; manager chemical research & engineering, A. B. Dick Co., Chicago, 1944-1946; director 1946-1949; Chemical & Management Consultant 1950-; Things he worked on included reaction kinetics, hydrocarbon chemistry, chemicals from petroleum, applied thermodynamics, photochemistry, instrumental methods of analysis, polymers, technology of the graphic arts, papers, paper converting, fibers, agricultural chemistry boards, research administration, patent management, corporate planning and development, and investment analysis of technical enterprises. While at Harvard he went on collecting trips with Reed Rollins (ref. Physaria chambersii)
• Chamelau'cium: Umberto Quattrocchi says possibly from camelaucum, "the headgear of the Pope," from Greek kalymma, "a covering." Flora of Western Australia online notes that "an illustration in the original description resembles a bishop's mitre." The website of the Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants also says "possibly from Greek, chamai, dwarf and leucos, white," although this seems etymologically unlikely (ref. genus Chamelaucium)
• Chamer'ion: from the Greek chamai, "dwarf," and nerion, "oleander," this is apparently a name that has replaced the invalid name Chamaenerion published by Seguier in 1754 (ref. genus Chamerion)
• cham'issoi: see chamissonis below (ref. Montia chamissoi)
• chamisson'is: after Adelbert von Chamisso (1781-1838), a French-born German botanist who botanized with J.F. Eschscholtz in the San Francisco Bay region in 1816 and accompanied him on a Russian expedition in search of the Northwest Passage, see also the entry for Camissonia (ref. Ambrosia chamissonis, Arnica chamissonis, Lupinus chamissonis, also the genus Camissonia)
• Chamomil'la: from the Latin chamaemelon, "chamomille or earth-apple," referring to the smell of the blossoms (ref. genus Chamomilla)
• chand'leri: after botanist Harley Pierce Chandler (1875-1918), a California school teacher and principal of Russ High School (now called San Diego High School) in San Diego 1904-1905. He also held principalships in Pasadena and instructed at Redlands High School. He made many botanical collections for the U.C. herbarium and published a monograph on the genus Nemophila. He first collected Satureja chandleri on San Miguel Mountain in 1904 (ref. Satureja chandleri)
• chapar'ro: the Spanish word for the live oak, from which is derived chaparral
• chara'cias: derived from Xaraxias, which is the ancient name that Dioscorides referred to it by in the first century A.D. It was also known to Theophrastus in the 3rd and 4th century B.C.E. Pliny the Elder's The Natural History (edited by John Bostock) at the Online Books Page (http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/subjectstart?QH-QR) contains the following: "The tithymalos [apparently a kind of spurge] is called by our people the "milk plant," ['Herba lactaria'] and by some persons the "goat lettuce." They say, that if characters are traced upon the body with the milky juice of this plant, and powdered with ashes, when dry, the letters will be perfectly visible; an expedient which has been adopted before now by intriguers, for the purpose of communicating with their mistresses, in preference to a correspondence by letter. There are numerous varieties of this plant. The first kind has the additional name of "characias," [the Euphorbia characias of Linnæus or red spurge] and is generally looked upon as the male plant. Its branches are about a finger in thickness, red and full of juice, five or six in number, and a cubit [45.72 cm] in length. The leaves near the root are almost exactly those of the olive, and the extremity of the stem is surmounted with a tuft like that of the bulrush: it is found growing in rugged localities near the sea-shore. The seed is gathered in autumn, together with the tufts, and after being dried in the sun, is beaten out and put by for keeping. As to the juice, the moment the down begins to appear upon the fruit, the branches are broken off and the juice of them is received upon either meal of fitches or else figs, and left to dry therewith. Five drops are as much as each fig ought to receive; and the story is, that if a dropsically patient eats one of these figs he will have as many motions as the fig has received drops. While the juice is being collected, due care must be taken not to let it touch the eyes. From the leaves, pounded, a juice is also extracted, but not of so useful a nature as the other kind: a decoction, too, is made from the branches. The seed also is used, being boiled with honey and made up into purgative pills. These seeds are sometimes inserted in hollow teeth with wax: the teeth are rinsed too, with a decoction of the root in wine or oil. The juice is used externally for lichens, and is taken internally both as an emetic and to promote alpine evacuation: in other respects, it is prejudicial to the stomach. Taken in drink, with the addition of salt, it carries off pituitous humours; and in combination with saltpeter, removes bile. In cases where it is desirable that it should purge by stool, it is taken with oxycrate, but where it is wanted to act as an emetic, with raisin wine or hydromel; three oboli being a middling dose. The best method, however, of using it, is to eat the prepared figs above-mentioned, just after taking food. In taste, it is slightly burning to the throat; indeed it is of so heating a nature, that, applied externally by itself, it raises blisters on the flesh, like those caused by the action of fire. Hence it is that it is sometimes employed as a cautery." (ref. Euphorbia characias)
• charlestonen'sis: of or from the Charleston Mountains, a range in Clark County, Nevada (ref. Arenaria congestus var. charlestonensis)
• charta'ceum: made of paper, papery (ref. Polemonium chartaceum)
• Chasman'the: from the Greek chasme, "gaping," and anthe, "flower," alluding to the shape of the flower (ref. genus Chasmanthe)
• Cheilan'thes: from the Greek cheilos, "a lip," and anthos, "flower," in reference to the form of the membranous covering (indusium) of the spore-bearing parts (ref. genus Cheilanthes)
• cheiranthifo'lia: having leaves like that of Cheiranthus, an old name for a wallflower now renamed (ref. Camissonia cheiranthifolia ssp. suffruticosa)
• cheirantho'ides: resembling genus Cheiranthus (ref. Erysimum cheiranthoides)
• Cheiran'thus: a genus of wallflowers, which may derive from the Greek cheir, "a hand," and anthos, "flower," thus "hand-flower," and perhaps a reference to the custom of carrying these fragrant flowers in the hand as a bouquet (ref. genus Cheiranthos)
• cheir'i: one source gives cheiri as "red-flowered," another suggests the Greek cheir, "a hand" (see entry above) (ref. Erysimum cheiri)
• chenopodiifo'lia: with leaves like Chenopodium (ref. Ambrosia chenopodiifolia)
• chenopodio'ides: like Chenopodium (ref. Chenopodium chenopodioides)
• Chenopo'dium: from the Greek chen, "goose," and pous, "foot," or podion, "a little foot," referring to the shape of the leaves in some species (ref. genus Chenopodium)
• child'ii: after Henry Stephen Child (1844-1885).  About Child, David Hollombe offers the following: "Henry Stephen Child came from Woodstock, CT. He was the youngest of 7 children. His uncle, Amasa Carpenter, and several of his older brothers were involved in manufacturing and selling shoes, in Boston. About 1863, his brothers opened a branch in Davenport, IA. The uncle, Amasa Carpenter, married a Susan Richmond and, less than a year after Susan's death, married Susan's niece, Mary. Mary's sister was Emily (Richmond Preston) Parry. At some point, Henry came out to Davenport and worked as a clerk in his brothers' store. The store was last listed in Davenport directories in 1876. On May 29, 1876, C.C. Parry, Edward Palmer, J.G. Lemmon, W.G. Wright, two local newspaper men, a local resort operator and several others rode on horseback into the San Bernardino Mts. The group also included "Mr. H. S. Child of Davenport." After 1876, Child lived in Boston. His occupation was listed in directories as a dealer in shading pens. He was married in 1883 to a 3rd or 4th cousin. He returned to California for his health in 1885 and died days or weeks later of tuberculosis in Pasadena" (ref. Collinsia childii)
• chilen'se/chilen'sis: from or referring to Chile (ref. Gnaphalium chilense, Symphyotrichum chilense, Carpobrotus chilensis, Elatine chilensis)
• chiloen'sis: of the island of Chiloe off the coast of Chile, where the species was first described from, before any plants (of any kind) from western North America were ever seen by European botanists. The following is quoted from a website called Strawberries, A Very Merry Berry (http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/FOOD_IS_ART/strawart.html): "It happened that a French spy, named Captain Amede Frezier, was observing Spanish strongholds on the west coast of South America when he discovered the giant-fruited Chilean wild strawberry, Fragaria chiloensis, that South American Indians had been cultivating as long as their history could be remembered. Captain Frezier gathered a few of these plants and brought them back to France. He was not believed when he said the fruit of these plants were the size of large walnuts and he also could not prove it because, unfortunately, all of the plants he had brought with him were female. In order to get them to produce fruit, they were deliberately crossed with the American Wild Strawberry and the end result was the large strawberry, Fragaria ananassa, also called the Pineapple Strawberry. Today, the French word for strawberry is 'Fraiser' in honor of the Captain." (ref. Fragaria chiloensis)
• Chilop'sis: from the Greek cheilos, "a lip," and -opsis, "resemblance," and thus referring to the distinctly lip-like shape of the calyx (ref. genus Chilopsis)
• Chima'phila: from the Greek cheima, "winter weather," and phelein, "to love," from its evergreen habit and referring to one of the common names, wintergreen aka pipsissiwa or prince's pine (ref. genus Chimaphila)
• chinen'sis: of or referring to China (ref. Simmondsia chinensis, Tamarix chinensis)
• Chloracan'tha: from the Greek chloros, "green," and akantha, "thorn, prickle" (ref. genus Chloracantha)
• chloran'tha: from the Greek chloros, "green," and anthos, "flower" (ref. Coryphantha chlorantha, Pyrola chlorantha)
• Chlor'is: named for the Greek goddess of flowers, Chloris (Flora in Roman mythology), daughter of Amphion. A related Latin word is chloris, "verdant," from Greek chloros, "green" (ref. genus Chloris)
• chloroceph'alus: from chloros, "green," and kephale, "head" (ref. Juncus chlorocephalus)
• Chloro'galum: derived from the Greek chloros, "green," and gala, "milk or juice" (ref. Chlorogalum pomeridianum)
• chloropet'alum: green-petalled (ref. Trillium chloropetalum)
• chlorotham'nus: from chloros, "green," and thamnos, "shrub" (ref. Eriogonum umbellatum var. chlorothamnus)
• chlorot'ica: pale yellowish-green (ref. Opuntia chlorotica)
• Chondril'la: a Greek name for endive or chicory (ref. genus Chondrilla)
• chorisia'nus: the possibilities here are choris, "separate, apart," and -anus, a suffix implying the quality of belonging to, but I can't quite put them together into something that makes sense. There was also a botanical artist named Ludwig Choris after whom the genus Chorisia is named, and the suffix -anus can sometimes be given to a personal name to convert it to an adjectival commemorative epithet to be attached to a generic name that is masculine in gender. I don't know whether Plagiobothrys is masculine, but judging from its many (~26) specific names just in California that end in -us, which is a masculine ending, I am guessing that it is. And subsequent to my doing this research, I noticed that the Jepson Manual lists the common name as Choris's popcornflower, so I am going to assume that this is the derivation. Ludwig (or Ludovic) Choris (1795-1828), a Ukrainian artist, while still a teenager, was a botanical artist on a Russian scientific expedition to the Caucasus Mountains. This advanced his reputation considerably and he was selected to join the a scientific voyage headed by Captain Otto von Kotzebue aboard the brig Rurik. The primary goal of the Rurik's voyage was to survey the Alaskan coast for a northeast passage through the Bering Strait, so the Russians could supply their trading posts between California and Alaska without having to sail all the way around Cape Horn. The Rurik carried only twenty-seven people, including the captain, scientists Adelbert von Chamisso (see chamissonis), Morten Wormskjold, and Johann Friedrich Eschscholtz (see Eschscholzia), and artist Choris. They left Russia in 1815, sailed around Cape Horn and wintered at Kamchatka. The following year they explored the Bering Strait and Unalaska, then headed for California in the fall, anchoring in San Francisco Bay during October. Their next destination was Hawaii and the Sandwich Islands, where they spent several months surveying. Later that year, they did reach the Arctic again, but soon turned for home, stopping at Guam, the Philippines, South Africa, and London before arriving at St. Petersburg having circumnavigated the globe. Choris went on to pursue a successful art career in subsequent years. In 1827 he again headed for America, this time to draw Indians in Mexico, but while riding from Veracruz on the Gulf Coast toward Mexico City, he was killed when robbers attacked his party on March 22, 1828. He was the author of A Voyage of Discovery into the South Sea and Bering’s Strait published in London in 1821 and Vues et Paysages des Régions Equinoxiales Recueillis dans un Voyage Autour du Monde published in Paris in 1826. Von Kotzebue had already made one voyage of circumnavigation between 1803 and 1806 as a cadet on the Nadezhda captained by Adam Ivan Krusenstern. This was the first Russian circum navigation, and he subsequently made a second voyage around the globe in 1823-1826, eventually discovering 400 islands in the South Seas, leaving his name on Kotzebue Sound in Alaska, and authoring A Voyage of Discovery (3 vol., 1821) and A New Voyage round the World (2 vol., 1830, repr. 1967). J.F. Eschscholtz accompanied him on his second voyage (ref. Plagiobothrys chorisianus)
• Choris'iva: from the Greek choris, "separate," and the genus Iva (ref. genus Chorisiva)
• Chorispo'ra: from the Greek choris, "separate, apart," and spora, "seed," referring to the septate (separated by a septum) fruits (ref. genus Chorispora)
• Chorizan'the: from the Greek chorizo, "to divide," and anthos, "flower," thus meaning "divided flowers," but actually referring to the divided calyx (ref. genus Chorizanthe)
• chrymac'tis: from the Greek krymos, "icy," and akta, "shore," thus meaning "of the icy shore," described from the shores of Yakutat Bay and Glacier Bay, Alaska (ref. Castilleja chrymactis)
• chrysan'tha: with golden flowers (ref. Dicentra chrysantha, Lasthenia chrysantha)
• chrysanthemifo'lia: name given because foliage resembles that of the chrysanthemum (ref. Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia)
• chrysanthemo'ides: like Chrysanthemum (ref. Layia chrysanthemoides)
• Chrysan'themum: from the Greek chrysos, "gold," and anthos, "flower" (ref. genus Chrysanthemum)
• chrysoco'ma: with yellow tufts or hairs
• chryso'graphes: with yellow or golden veins or markings
• Chrysolep'is: Greek for "golden-scaled," from the lower leaf surface (ref. genus Chrysolepis, also Quercus chrysolepis)
• chrysophyl'la: golden-leaved (ref. Chrysolepis chrysophylla, Iris chrysophylla)
• chrysop'sidis: small Chrysopsis (ref. Erigeron chrysopsidis ssp. austiniae)
• Chrysop'sis: from chrysos, "golden," and opsis, bearing a resemblance or appearance, from the golden color of the heads (ref. genus Chrysopsis)
• Chrysosplen'ium: from the Greek chrysos, "gold," and splynos, "the spleen" or splenion, "a pad or compress of linen," in reference to the sessile leaves (ref. genus Chrysosplenium)
• chrysosto'ma: golden-mouthed, from chrysos, "golden," and stoma, "mouth" (ref. Lasthenia californica [formerly chrysostoma], Hieracium chrysostoma)
• Chrysotham'nus: from the Greek chrysos, "gold," and thamnus, "bush," thus literally "golden bush," and it is a yellow-flowered bush although its common name is rabbitbrush (ref. genus Chrysothamnus)