Kuyper, T.W.

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Proposal to conserve the name Glomus (Fungi, Glomeromycota Glomerales) as being of neuter gender.

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647
TAXON 58 (2) • May 2009: 647 Kuyper • (1888) Conserve Glomus
(1888) Glomus Tul. & C. Tul. in Giorn. Bot. Ital. Anno 1, 
2(1): 63. 11 Mai 1845, nom. et gen. neut. cons. prop.
Typus: G. macrocarpum Tul. & C. Tul. (‘macro-
carpus’)
The majority of plant species form mycorrhiza, a mu-
tually beneficial symbiosis between plant roots and certain 
root-inhabiting fungi. The presence and type of mycorrhiza 
is also an important character in plant taxonomy and phy-
logeny. The arbuscular mycorrhizal association is by far 
the most important kind of these symbioses. Evolution of 
the group made the conquest of the land by the first root-
less plants possible. It has been estimated that over 200,000 
species of higher plants form arbuscular mycorrhiza. The 
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi form a monophyletic group, 
phylum Glomeromycota (Schüßler & al. in Mycol. Res. 105: 
1413–1421. 2001; Hibbett & al. in Mycol. Res. 111: 509–547. 
2007). This phylum is likely the sister group of Ascomy-
cota + Basidiomycota (James & al. in Nature 443: 818–822. 
2006; Redecker & Raab in Mycologia 98: 885–895. 2006; 
White & al. in Mycologia 98: 872–884. 2006). The symbiosis 
is also very ancient, with fossils dating back 460 Ma (Re-
decker & al. in Science 289: 1920–1921. 2000). Within the 
Glomeromycota some 200 species are recognised at present 
(Redecker & Raab in Mycologia 98: 885–895. 2006). The 
largest genus in the phylum is the genus Glomus with 70 
recognised species.
When introducing the genus Glomus, the Tulasne broth-
ers mentioned two species, G. microcarpus Tul. & C. Tul. 
and G. macrocarpus of which the second was chosen as a 
lectotype by Clements & Shear (Genera of Fungi: 238. 1931). 
That typification has been accepted by the ING database 
(http://botany.si.edu/ing/). In their paper the Tulasne brothers 
described four new genera. They provided the etymology of 
three generic names (Hydnocystis, Genabea, Pachyphloeus), 
but not in the case of Glomus. The Latin word glomus re-
fers to a ball of yarn and is neuter, but Tulasne and Tulasne 
treated the name as masculine as witnessed both by the two 
epithets and by the description of the species. With the two 
Glomus species the description starts with “globosus sat 
regularis candidus intus solidus” and “subamorphus, sordide 
PROPOSALS TO CONSERVE OR REJECT NAMES
Edited by John McNeill, Scott A. Redhead & John H. Wiersema
(1888) Proposal to conserve the name Glomus (Fungi, Glomeromycota, 
Glomerales) as being of neuter gender
Thomas W. Kuyper
Department of Soil Quality, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands. 
Thom.Kuyper@wur.nl
griseus” respectively, and continues to use the masculine 
form, whereas new species in the genus Tuber, which they 
treated as neuter, the diagnosis starts as “mediocre globo-
sum”, “globosum” and “rotundatum”. Which gender should 
then be correct? Article 62 of the ICBN (McNeill & al. in 
Regnum Veg. 146. 2006) provides the answer to that ques-
tion. The article mentions three criteria in descending order 
of importance, viz., botanical tradition, the author’s original 
usage, and classical usage (even though Note 1 tries to link 
original usage and classical usage, which is a bit confusing 
in an otherwise clear rule). I have been unable to find in-
stances of the name Glomus in botanical (i.e., pre-Linnaean) 
tradition. Consequently, the gender assigned by Tul. & C. 
Tul. (masculine) prevails over classical Latin (neuter). The 
masculine gender had been used from 1844 to 1982, when 
Trappe (Phytopathology 72: 1102–1108. 1982) changed all 
endings of adjectival epithets into neuter. It should be added 
that no new species were described in Glomus between 1844 
and 1974 (Gerdemann & Trappe in Mycol. Mem. 5: 1–76. 
1974). Mycological usage in the last 30 years has consistently 
treated the name as neuter. Changing gender (again) does not 
seem to serve any useful purpose, and I therefore propose to 
conserve the neuter gender under Art. 14.11 (conservation 
of gender).
If the name Glomus is conserved as being of neuter 
gender, the stem of the name becomes Glomer-, as the clas-
sical Latin word, under the 3rd declination. Schüßler & al. 
(in Mycol. Res. 105: 1413–1421. 2001) were the first to use 
the stem Glomer- ; until that time the stem Glom- was used 
(Glomaceae, Glomales). The case was extensively argued 
by David (in Constancea 83. 2002). David remarked that 
“the stem Glomer- should be used since Glomus is a neu-
ter noun with a genitive singular ‘Glomeris’. To adopt the 
former stem would imply that Glomus is a masculine noun 
with a genitive singular ‘Glomi ’ and consequently many of 
the species epithets in the genus would have to be altered.” 
While the reasoning by David was incorrect, because the 
Tulasnes’ name was masculine from the start, conservation 
of the name of neuter gender, leaves no doubt that the stem 
Glomer- should be used.


Proposal to conserve the name Glomus (Fungi, Glomeromycota Glomerales) as being of neuter gender.

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