Anthospermum, an unusual name for an African genus of Rubiaceae

The mainly African genus Anthospermum L. has an enigmatic name, meaning “floral seed.” Recent dictionaries of plant names relate the name to the complex reproductive biology of the genus, i.e. male flowers sometimes having ovaries capable of ripening seeds. However, Linnaeus himself mentioned how he coined the name and he explained it differently. The Italian botanist Giulio Pontedera, who made earlier observations on the genus, confused flower buds with fruits and seeds with anthers. Hence, Linnaeus coined the name by combining the words flower (Greek anthos) and seed (Greek spermum) and herewith alluded to this error. Anthospermum seems another example of a derogatory name given by Linnaeus.