I was just reminded of this looking at the updates for Nepenthes for Everyone and remembered-- I had been thinking about this and figured it out not long ago:
Burbidge and his wife share the same last name. Species names are in Latin. Nepenthes burbidgeae literally means 'Nepenthes of Burbidge' just like Nepenthes macfarlanei means 'Nepenthes of Macfarlane'. Now for a Latin lesson:
1st declension feminine nouns end in 'ae' for the genitive. 2nd declension masculine nouns end in 'i' for the genitive. The main use of genitive case is possession (remember 'Nepenthes of Burbidge'?).
So, if Burbidge named it after himself (assuming he is a man, that is) it would be Nepenthes burbidgei. However, it is N. burbidgeae.
Now stop accusing the man!
-D. Lybrand
Burbidge and his wife share the same last name. Species names are in Latin. Nepenthes burbidgeae literally means 'Nepenthes of Burbidge' just like Nepenthes macfarlanei means 'Nepenthes of Macfarlane'. Now for a Latin lesson:
1st declension feminine nouns end in 'ae' for the genitive. 2nd declension masculine nouns end in 'i' for the genitive. The main use of genitive case is possession (remember 'Nepenthes of Burbidge'?).
So, if Burbidge named it after himself (assuming he is a man, that is) it would be Nepenthes burbidgei. However, it is N. burbidgeae.
Now stop accusing the man!
-D. Lybrand