I think it would depend on pronunciation. Since "herbaceous" isn't a term you hear often, most people likely don't have a good instinct for how they "should" pr

I think it would depend on pronunciation. Since "herbaceous" isn't a term you hear often, most people likely don't have a good instinct for how they "should" pronounce it. Seems plausible that the author concluded one pronunciation made more sense at one point during writing and the other pronunciation at a different point. Or maybe one was just a typo. ;-)