But, think about it. Other botanical names use a combination of Latin and a person’s name, usually a scientist or the individual who discovered the plant. The first part is the genus, and is capitalized, and the second word is the species, which is not capitalized. The Latin names may describe the plant’s growth habit, color, texture, size, or other characteristics. ), can really make botanical names readily come to mind. They are also useful in plant identification because they can often tell you something which should be obvious about the plant being referred to. Banyan Tree . of Horticulture) contains some of the most common meanings of Latin plant names that are found in popular garden plants. The plant kingdom is divided and classified according to division, order, family, subfamily, genus, species and sub-species. Most written plant knowledge was the property of monks, particularly History and scope. When a new strain of plant is developed, the new plant needs a third category to further describe its one-of-a-kind characteristic. While it’s fine to use common names such as lady’s mantle, poppy or heather, these can cause confusion, even within the same geographical area. This is such good advice. bot.an.ar.y. In plant names, therefore, those that are deemed masculine will end in -us, those that are feminine will end in -a, and those that are neuter will end in -um (plus some odd ones with other endings). The entire botanical name should be italicized. Sometimes botanical names do change. And I’m sure many gardeners reading this text easily understood at least a word or two from that list as well. Many botanical Latin names can be broken down into smaller words that have associations. But when you start to use botanical names on a regular basis, you begin to appreciate them. Botanical Latin is a technical language based on New Latin, used for descriptions of botanical taxa. *At least in theory! Unlock the secrets of botanical Latin with this beautifully illustrated encyclopedia.The Gardener's Botanical contains definitions of more than 5,000 plant names-fromabbreviatus ("shortened") to zonatus ("with bands")-along with more than 350 color illustrations.. Scientific plant names are an invaluable tool for those who understand them. It is still the only language other than English accepted for descriptions. Simply type the name in the box provided, and 99 times out of 100, it will give you the origin or definition. Botanical Latin is primarily a written language. Like this: Taraxacum, Rosa, or Quercus. The Plant List (TPL) was a working list of all known plant species produced by the botanical community in response to Target 1 of the 2002-2010 Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). In addition, Latin names tell you the following about a plant: www.mobot.org: Research Home | Search | Contact | Site Map W³TROPICOS QUICK SEARCH. Botanical Names for Herbs. Please note for many of these flowers there are a multitude of different species within the given genus. Together, they tell you the plant species. Botanical Latin How to correctly write a plant species name. Sometimes the epithet is a Latinized version of a place or a person’s name. Book Description: The definitive guide to botanical Latin. This page lists the botanical and common names of tree species that are commonly known in English as Cherry Trees.All species listed on this page are in the botanical plant classification of; Genus; "Prunus" Subgenus; "Cerasus".Most species that are known as Cherry Trees will be listed here.. This may be a new creation and not actually a word from Latin. Sometimes when the reference is really obscure, but I want to retain the name, I try to create a mnemonic. ... Just remember that the names are not Latin, but rather ‘latinized.’ Most people pronounce latinized words as they speak their own language: just by sounding out the syllables. Draco means dragon and cephalum means head. Plant names that have more than 2 words. That’s why many experienced gardeners instantly understand grandiflora and multiflora. The “genus” is the larger of the two groups and can be equated to the use of a last name like “Smith.” For example, genus identifies one as “Smith” and the species would be akin to an individual’s first name, like “Joe.”. Nicknames for plants are fun, descriptive and for many people easy to remember. But when you start to use botanical names on a regular basis, you begin to appreciate them. He has notably been editor-in-chief of HousePlant Magazine, Fleurs, Plantes et Jardins, À Fleur de Pot and Houseplant Forum magazines and is currently the garden correspondent for Le Soleil and radio garden commentator for CKIA-FM Radio. It’s out of control. While it isn’t necessary to learn scientific Latin plant names, they may be of significant aid to the gardener as they contain information regarding specialized characteristics among similar plant species. MO PROJECTS: Africa Asia/Pacific Mesoamerica North America South America General Taxonomy Photo Essays Training in Latin America. Azalea: The Azalea plant takes its name from the Greek αζαλεος, or “dry.”Native to Asia, Europe, and North America, their spring blooms can last for several weeks. Often the names honor not humans, but figures from mythology. The second word is the species and should appear in all lowercase letters. After all, they do help avoid much confusion because each plant has only one botanical name*, while it can have several, if not dozens, of common names. And the giant waterlily Victoria amazonica honors Queen Victoria. Try to pronounce them, create an image of the plant in your mind, then find a word or image or a combination of words and images that would make sense for you and associate the two in your brain. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. OK Now I’ll throw a harder one at you. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. For example, the popular Monstera deliciosa is known in different locales as a Hurricane Plant, Mexican Breadfruit, Ceriman, Swiss Cheese Plant, Fruit Salad Tree, Window leaf, or Penglai Banana. After all, they do help avoid much confusion because each plant has only one botanical name*, while it can have several, if… Here are three botanical names that don’t have an immediate sense: Papaver (poppy), Malus (apple), and Syringa (lilac). And when I understand something, I can better remember it. Jute. Botanical nomenclature has a long history, going back beyond the period when Latin was the scientific language throughout Europe, to Theophrastus (c. 370–287 BC), Dioscorides (c. 40 – 90 AD) and other Greek writers. Again, that makes sense, as the flower lasts only one day. ), if I so easily remember botanical names, it’s because I’ve learned to understand them. Within the scope of essential oils and holistic aromatherapy, the unique names assigned to plants are typically known as "botanical names" or "Latin names." ), since philodendrons love to climb trees, that Toxicodendron means poisonous tree, etc. Learn to pronounce succulents' Latin names with the best of them! Colors. noun. Let’s try Hemerocallis, the botanical name of the daylily: beautiful for a day. As a bonus, certain botanical Latin words used to name various plants often also reveal that plant’s characteristics. Please find below an extensive list of flower names, firstly by common name and then their botanical equivalent. The first two come from figures out of Greek mythology. Digitalis purpurea. The Plant List (TPL) was a working list of all known plant species produced by the botanical community in response to Target 1 of the 2002-2010 Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). He has written for many garden publications in both the United States and Canada, including Canadian Gardening, Harrowsmith, Horticulture, Fine Gardening and Organic Gardening. There is, however, a very good reason to use Latin plant names. Please find below an extensive list of flower names, firstly by common name and then their botanical equivalent. The plant kingdom is divided and classified according to division, order, family, subfamily, genus, species and sub-species. “Devil’s tobacco” can be Symplocarpus foetidus, Arctium lappa, Verbascum thapsus or even Cannabis sativus! ( Log Out / Change ). These small memory games, called mnemonic aids (note that most Latin names are easier to remember the word “mnemonics” itself! These new human-created species are called cultivars.. Cultivars are added to the end of a Botanical Latin name, surrounded by single … They mean, respectively, “big flowered” and “with many flowers” (flora, for flower, is fairly understandable, and grandi and multi are also pretty obvious). The definitive guide to botanical Latin Unlock the secrets of botanical Latin with this beautifully illustrated encyclopedia. They are also useful in plant identification because they can often tell you something which should be obvious about the plant being referred to. Many of these works have come down to us in Latin translations. Each name refers to only one plant. A couple of examples include: ‘Cotton Easter’ for Cotoneaster or ‘Plait Annoy Dee’s’ for Acer platanoides. You would mainly see this practice in a larger discussion about the genus or about a commonly talked about plant. When making a list of botanical names in the same genus, you can abbreviate the genus. This site is incredibly helpful for delving into the meanings of botanical names: I’m sure even Latin scholars visit it! There is no use looking for the Latin origin of Lewisia in a Latin dictionary for example: it’s not even a true Latin name, but rather Latinized English. And sometimes Latin is pretty close to English. Let’s learn more about the meaning of Latin plant names with this short but sweet botanical nomenclature guide. If you see the word prostrata, I’ll bet you would be able to guess it grows prostrate (low to the ground). Another common way to write botanical Latin names, is by abbreviating the genus name by its first initial and spelling out the specific epithet. Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! Most gardeners will understand that names like Narcissus, Hyacinthus, Iris, Daphne, Adonis, and Andromeda have links with the Greek mythology. L. Brown Center Bryology GIS Graduate Studies Research Experiences for Undergraduates Imaging Lab Library … I’ M GRATEFUL that when I began gardening, I fell in with a bunch of plant nerds who spoke not in common names but in botanical Latin, and turned me on to oddball mail-order nurseries whose entire lists were likewise written that way. Learning Latin Latin is the international language used by scientists all over the world to name plants and animals. For me, for example, it is clear that alba means white, rubra is red, nigra is black, cyanea is blue, flava is yellow, purpurea is purple, aurantiaca is orange, argentea is silver, etc. And just guess where plants with those names come from? banksias, camellias and acacias. Resources: Catalpa sounds like botanical Latin, but it is actually an Indigenous North American name for a tree genus that includes two American species. Although botanical nomenclature is rather complicated the way to write these names is fairly straight forward. names are not as reliable as botanical names for identifi cation purposes. The binomial (two name) system of nomenclature was developed by Swedish naturalist, Carl Linnaeus in the mid 1700s. And exactly what are Latin plant names anyway? Bougainvillea, meanwhile (a lovely vine whose name is constantly mispronounced and/or misspelled) is named after Louis Antoine de Bougainville. Scientific Latin plant names help describe both the “genus” and “species” of plants in order to better categorize them. These new human-created species are called cultivars.. Cultivars are added to the end of a Botanical Latin name, surrounded by single … Unless you knew the botanical name, it might be hard to figure out which Elephant Ear you were talking about. That’s because when Linnaeus devised his system for classifying plants, he wanted to use a language Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Following are a list of plants and their botanical names. Common names may in fact be too common, so much so you really don’t know what plant is involved. The Gardener's Botanical contains definitions of more than 5,000 plant names―from abbreviatus ("shortened") to zonatus ("with bands")―along with more than 350 color illustrations. … Botanical Names. And from there I was able to extrapolate that Rhododendron means rose tree (from the Greek rhodo for rose), that Philodendron means “tree-lover” (from philo for love … as in Philadelphia, city of brotherly love! So, when confronted with the name Acer rubrum (red maple), the gardener will know he/she is looking at a maple with vibrant red fall leaves. 1. ), Gaillardia becomes a happy pig (gay lard: I imagine a fat, smiling pig basking in the center of the flower), Gazania is obviously gazin’ on ya, etc. The first part is the genus name and the second part is the specific epithet (descriptive term.) Latin names are usually written in italics. Read more articles about Gardening Tips & Information. Try it yourself! The second word is the species and should appear in all lowercase letters. ; purpurea is the specific epithet. This is particularly true among the species names, or “ specific epithets ,” the second word in each two-part (or binomial) botanical name, which modifies the first word, the genus name. If you want to know the meaning of an obscure botanical name, let me direct you to the site Botanary. Along with Chloe and Bentley, other botanical names for babies in the US Top 1000 include Aspen, Briar, Daisy, Nash, Oliver, Rowan, Sylvie, and Zaria. ( Log Out / Take for example, Acer is the Latin plant name (genus) for maple. Many botanical names are geographical references and these are usually pretty obvious. The more you deal with botanical names, the easier it becomes. Scientific plant names are an invaluable tool for those who understand them. Cabbage. Botanical name - this is the formal and scientific name of a plant which conform to the relevant International Code for Nomenclature. There is even a Ligularia hodgsonii … but it is not named for me (Larry Hodgson), but rather the British botanist Bryan Houghton Hodgson. Plants grown in captivity are sometimes cross-bred to produce new species. For example, I have learned over time that dendron means tree. I told you you knew more botanical Latin than you thought!). This third name may represent the developer of the cultivar, location of origin or hybridization, or a specific unique characteristic. If you did get those names, you were able to understand that combining two different botanical names creates a new one, and it’s proof you’re getting pretty good with your botanical Latin! A few names on this list will fascinate those interested in the derivation of plant names: Achillea millefolium, Adonis amurensis, and Bougainvillea. Again, ‘Acer’ means maple while the descriptive ‘palmatum’ means shaped like a hand, and it is derived from ‘platanoides,’ meaning “resembling the plane tree.” Therefore, Acer platanoides means you are looking at a maple that resembles the plane tree. It sounds obscure, doesn’t it, but again, I’ll bet a number of readers got it right away, because you’ve seen the words draco and cephalum elsewhere. Experienced plantsmen can switch off now; others may like … thank you so much!! The epithets are largely taken from alpine plants and found in the seed lists of the North American Rock Garden Society's seed list, alpine plant nursery catalogs and alpine references. Botanical names are very specific. And when you know that anthus means “flower,” suddenly incomprehensible names like Dianthus, polyanthus and Helianthus become clearer. International Codes of Nomenclature. 120 Botanical Baby Names. Grouping plants according to similarities such as leaves, flowers, and fruit, he founded a natural order and named them accordingly. Together, the genus and epithet comprise the "species." New to me in this article was the use of Latin names in Europe on their labels. Ross Bayton’s book, The Gardener’s Botanical: An Encyclopedia of Latin Names, is a delight for anyone who has ever been curious about plant names. You picked up their meanings by seeing or hearing them again and again. These are some of the Latin specific epithets often applied to plants we grow in our gardens. Meaning of Latin Plant Names. It includes taxon names … Your donations help us continue publishing our free daily blog. Until 2012, International Code of Botanical Nomenclature mandated Botanical Latin to be used for the descriptions of most new taxa. Bajra. What do you think Dracocephalum means? Genus and species: Names should always be italicized or underlined. Furthermore, most botanical names use Latin to describe certain characteristics of that particular species. Mar 8, 2019 - Explore vicki hodgon's board "Botanical names" on Pinterest. The species (or specific epithet) follows the genus name in lowercase and the entire Latin plant name is italicized or underlined. Example of Botanical Name . The term "L atin names" comes from the fact that all names, i. e. originating from Latin, Greek, other languages, place names and people's name, etc. Aster: From the Greek ἀστήρ meaning “star,” the aster is a daisy-like flower common to Europe and Asia. Since there are many different types of maple, another name (the species) is added to for positive identification. ( Log Out / The use of Latin plant names can be confusing to the home gardener, sometimes even intimidating. In binomial Latin, the genus is a noun and the species is a descriptive adjective for it. Each plant name is associated with an original description, including a brief description in Latin (before 2012), ... sense covering a group or genus (e.g. Combining the two names gives us a unique term for this person’s individual name just as combing the “genus” and “species” scientific Latin plant names gives us a unique botanical nomenclature guide for each individual plant. Simple. 2. Botanical baby names have meanings related to plants and plant-life.Names with botanical meanings include flower names, tree names, herb names, fruit names, and names inspired by herbs, grasses, sprouts, and shrubs, such as Chloe and Bentley. Scientific species names are always italicized. The definitive guide to botanical Latin Unlock the secrets of botanical Latin with this beautifully illustrated encyclopedia. Common and botanical names of flowers listed alphabetically by their common name. It is interesting that although the question refers to botanical names as "Latin" names, in fact, many of them are Greek in origin. Scientific plant names are an invaluable tool for those who understand them. Botanical names are unique – every specie has one botanical name and everywhere, all over the world, the same botanical name is used to refer to that particular specie. Some botanical Latin names hint at when the plant will bloom, like Primula, from the Latin primus, for first — referring to its very early flowers. Example: if you type in Echinacea (for the popular garden perennial), here is what you get: From the Greek echinos, (sea urchin or hedgehog), referring to the plant’s cone. The first word is known as the Genus, and it should be capitalized. Dianthus means “flower of the gods” (from dius for god), polyanthus means multiple flowers and Helianthus means sunflower (from helios for sun) for its big sun-shaped bloom. For quick reference, this botanical nomenclature guide (via Cindy Haynes, Dept. A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin. The term "L atin names" comes from the fact that all names, i. e. originating from Latin, Greek, other languages, place names and people's name, etc.