Review Guide to Plant Common Name
Update (Feb 28, 2022)
- Not all words in common name must be capitalized. See Important Notes – 4 –
- Use singular or plural, depending on the task at hand and the language being used. See Important Notes – 5 –
- Multiple common names from different regions in the same language can be added. See Tips – 4 –
Overview
We will show users all the names of the given species on the name card and put the most frequent names (Preferred name) first.
An example of a plant name card is shown below. The preferred common name (Golden pothos) is shown at first, then the common name of the genus (Arum), followed by other common names.
We invite two freelancers to fill in the common name of the same species to ensure that more names are found and the correct preferred name is marked. (Instructions for them to supplement Plant Common Names.)
Task requirements
Please refer to the work results of the two people, choose the correct preferred name, and confirm whether to keep all the names.
1. When the name is different, or the popular name setting is different, or the preferred name setting is different, or the content in the memo box is different, two lines of content will appear after a name.
The first line: the work result of the first freelancer.
The second line: the work result of the second freelancer.
You need to check the links to determine whose work result is correct, and tick the box.
2. When the work results of two freelancers are the same, only one line will appear after the same name. You don’t need to do anything.
3. If the first freelancer shown in the figure below did not add a name,
The second freelancer added a new name(e.g.”テンガイバナ (天盖花)”).
You need to check the links of the second freelancer to determine whether to choose the result of the second freelancer.
Attention
1. For Japanese/Korean/Russian, if there is no common name for the target plant species, freelancers are supposed to Phonetically Translate its Latin Name (the gray one inside the brackets)
E.g. Sanicula canadensis → サニキュラ・カナデンシス(Japanese)
2. For other languages, if freelancers can not find any common names of some species, freelancers are supposed to write the Latin name in the box and set it as Preferred. DO NOT make up any name or translate names from another language. All names must be available on the internet.
In this case, freelancers are allowed to use mock links indicating there’s no common name in the target language or give links containing the plant’s Latin name
Important Notes
1. If you can find additional names, please add and provide links.
2. Please use the provided links to determine whether the popular name is correct, whether the name needs to be reserved, etc.
3. For common name tasks, please avoid names that will cause debating, or content with the intention of politics, pornography, religion or racial discrimination, drugs, etc.
4. The format of a common name in most language:
Always capitalize the first letter of every word, except preposition word, like “of”, etc. Other words aren’t usually capitalized.
Except:
- In German, Please Capitalize Every First Letter.
- In Korean, Arabic and Chinese etc., there are no capital letters.
5. Use singular or plural, depending on the task at hand and the language being used.
Use singular form in these languages: Italian, Polish, Swedish, Dutch, Arabic, Malaysian, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese
Use plural form in these languages: English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Thai. (This applies even for a genus with only one species, eg. Maidenhair trees/Ginkgos – Genus: Ginkgo)
6. The format of a common name in Japanese:
日本名（漢字）
日本名 should be written in 片仮名
If there’s no 漢字 name, ignore this part
Use full-width round brackets
E.g.: アカナラ（赤楢），エゾノリュウキンカ （蝦夷立金花），オールスパイス
Special Attention (very important)
1. All names must find on the internet. If you find any common name did not exist, pls change it and let us know.
Exception: for Japanese/Korean/Russian freelancers, if there is no common name for the target plant species, they are supposed to Phonetically Translate the Plant’s Latin Name)
2. Every name must have a link, even it is not a popular name. The link could be the same if one link shows few names. Authoritative links take precedence.
3. Reject the common name. Please reject directly and do not modify if the common name is not correct. . If you think any writer didn’t do a good job, pls report.
4. Pay attention to the format of common names, such as case problems for rock common names, links. The format needs to be very strict as we may ask for a refund if freelancers didn’t review/edit names in the correct way.
Tips
- Wikipedia is a reliable source of common names. Make sure the common names listed on it are collected.
- Look for the website of gardening suppliers in your country. Commonly used names are usually listed.
- If you are not quite sure about the preferred common name, search for the names in your favorite local search engine, encyclopedia site, online seed store, scientific database, germplasm information systems, local flora, etc.. The common name that with the highest hits is usually the best one.
- Multiple common names from different regions in the same language can be added. For example, common names from European/African Portuguese can be used for Brazilian Portuguese as well. Common names from British English can be used for American English.