bidwillii

Bidwellii is a Latinized species epithet used in the scientific names of several organisms, most commonly plants. It is not a standalone taxon but a component of binomial names that designate individual species within different genera. The epithet commemorates John Carne Bidwill (1815–1853), an Australian botanist and plant collector whose work contributed to the documentation of Australian flora.

In botanical nomenclature, bidwillii is typically written in lowercase and attached to a capitalized genus name, forming a full species name such as Genus bidwillii. The ending -ii signifies a dedication to a male person named Bidwill. The spelling bidwillii is standard, though historical or typographical variants can occur depending on Latin grammatical agreement and the gender of the genus.

The use of personal epithets like bidwillii reflects a long-standing practice in taxonomy to honor contributors to science. Because the epithet is coupled with different genera, the same specific epithet can appear in multiple, unrelated groups of organisms. While predominantly seen in plants under the rules of botanical nomenclature, similar epithets can appear across other taxonomic codes when appropriate, always serving as a commemorative marker rather than a description of the organism’s characteristics.

See also: John Carne Bidwill.