The Reverend Samuel Goodenough, Bishop of Carlisle, died in on this day in 1827. English botanist John Smith, co-founder with Goodenough of the Linnean Society of London in 1788, named the large Australian genus Goodenia for him in 1793. As well as containing some 180 species, nearly all Australian, it is the type genus of a family which includes such well-known Australian genera as Lechenaultia, Dampiera and Scaevola.
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| Goodenia beardiana, Twin Creeks Reserve, Western Australia. |
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| Goodenia ovata, Bundanoon, New South Wales. |
It seems rather ironic that the Bishop should have honoured Linnaeus with the name of the still-eminent taxonomic society; he was profoundly appalled by Linnaeus' decision to use the sex organs of flowers as a basic part of his classification system. It wasn't because this system was so arbitrary - Linnaeus knew that, and saw it as merely an essential first 'pigeon-holing' step - but because it wasn't seemly to even acknowledge that flowers had such inelegant dangly bits!
"To tell you that nothing could equal the gross prurience of Linnaeus' mind is perfectly needless. A literal translation of the first principles of Linnaean botany is enough to shock female modesty. It is possible that many virtuous students might not be able to make out the similitude of Clitoria." wrote Goodenough to a fellow Linnean Society member in 1808. It seems that one thing that dismayed him was that ladies would no longer be able to dabble in botany as a genteel hobby.
Presumably ornithologists Nicholas Vigor (Irish) and Dr Thomas Horsfield (from the US) were able to overlook this eccentricity when they named the lovely Red-capped Robin for him "in honour of this most reverend and most erudite man".
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| Red-capped Robin Petroica goodenovii, Forbes, New South Wales. |
Overall I reckon the bishop came out of it rather well, considering.
Today would also have been my dad's birthday; thinking of you Fred.
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