Many other languages can also be found in the origins of plant names. Do you see a “creeping fig” vine or a Ficus repens clinging to this wall?. Since Latin became the standard language for plant naming in the eighteenth century, it has been intrinsically linked with botany. brevi - = short. The rule is that family names are always made up by adding ‘-aceae’ to the genus name on which the family name is based; for example Iris + aceae = Iridaceae (with an extra ‘d’ to make it pronounceable). I still have to keep checking how to spell Campanula portenschlagiana for example. For example, Berberis darwinii, Rhododendron forrestii and Acer davidii are named for Charles Darwin and the plant hunters George Forrest and Jean Pierre Armand David respectively. Do you prefer to use common names for plants or are you a botanical Latin maven? -issima = very ( foetidissima = very smelly!) Authority names are usually abbreviated, so for example Linnaeus becomes L. As long as it obeys the (complicated) rules set out in the ICN, a plant’s name is entirely up to the person doing the naming. Yes, it can, and breaking the rules is fine if obeying them would be too annoying. Try to pronounce them, create an image of the plant in your mind, … and subsp. Pick one of your plants, any plant will do. ), can really make botanical names readily come to mind. names are Latin, cultivar names are usually in a modern language. Believe it or not, botanical names were created by Carl von Linne to make plant names easier. However, this doesn’t help with some names. Many genus names are just, well, names, they don’t really mean anything – they are just what the plant has always been called, often since Roman times. Gardening; Courses; Community; Blog; Speaking botanically – Understanding plant names part 2. No one is quite sure where Mahonia japonica comes from, but it doesn’t seem to be Japan, although it has been cultivated there for centuries; our best guess is Taiwan. Latin words for plant include planta, herba, obnitor, opsero, subsero, frutex, scrobis and plantabo. And while mastery of the classical language may not be a prerequisite for tending perennials, all gardeners stand to benefit from learning a bit of Latin … Species fit inside genera, just as genera fit within families. The genus name is always capitalized. Anyway to understand how to write botanical plant names correctly - let’s take a look at the binomial system in relation to plants. By entering your details, you are agreeing to Gardens Illustrated terms and conditions and privacy policy. You might think it would be someone’s job to do something about names like these, but I’m afraid we’re stuck with them. semper - = always. Species names, like genera, sometimes commemorate famous people. “A lot of Latin words used in naming a plant will help in describing a plant,” Klett said. As for the terminology, "binomial nomenclature," "binomial" literally means "using or having two names," and "nomenclature" is from the Latin for "the assigning of names." Two useful species names are esculentum (good to eat) and sativa (planted or cultivated). In a list like this, or anywhere the genus is understood, it is usually shortened to its initial, for example, V. davidii. The only other two levels of the botanical hierarchy that gardeners normally need are the next one up (family), and the next one down (species). And why do Latin plant names matter? A new orchid was recently named Dendrobium cynthiae after the Californian orchid grower Cynthia (Cyndy) Hill. A final word about common names. And the Portuguese squill really is from Portugal, despite its Latin name being Scilla peruviana. Ross: Absolutely, and while the great majority of plant Latin names are descriptive, so they describe maybe what the plant looks like or where it came from or the kind of habitat that it grows in, there are lots of other different types of plant names. Whenever you talk about rhododendron, iris, crocus, wisteria, camellia and penstemon, for example, you’re using Botanical Latin names of genera. But as I was matching the names to the plants, I realized that botanical names — also called Latin names — serve a purpose. grandiflorum is called V. x bodnantense. Booklets like these can be found in bookstores, as well as through distributors of horticultural texts and gardening guides. Garden plants are often cultivated varieties (‘cultivars’) selected for a particular feature, such as vigour, hardiness or flower shade, for example V. tinus ‘Eve Price’, and hybrids may also have cultivars, such as V. x bodnantense ‘Dawn’. Garden plants may also be hybrids of two species, in which case the name may be the two specific names separated by ‘x’. Technically, a name is only complete if accompanied by an authority, that is whoever gave the plant its name. “For example, ‘ aureus ‘ in Latin means ‘golden’ in English. There are two basic ways you might learn how to talk “plant Latin.” The first is through the help of pronunciation guides, such the New Pronouncing Dictionary of Plant Names (American Nurseryman Publishing Co., Chicago). Then look for another plant you have within the same genus … Latin (botanical) names are necessary, because common names for plants vary from region to region and even from town to town. For example, the Latin name for each species has two parts. And there is one more thing I want to discuss, and this is the family name. A whopping great tree found in Gabon in 2015, bigger than any of its relatives, was named Gilbertiodendron maximum. As a professional landscape designer and garden communicator who does a lot of public speaking and television, I HAD to learn botanical Latin.. It’s the universal language of horticulture! Once upon a time plants were classified on the basis of their appearance, but the similarity of the DNA of two species is a perfect guide to how closely related they are. You can unsubscribe at any time. So, as sequencing DNA gets cheaper and easier, we often find our earlier ideas about classification were not entirely correct – which in turn means some names need to change. Week 2 plants. I think it may have been more than 100, actually. Armeria maritima is, of course, from the seaside, Cymbalaria muralis grows on walls and Clematis alpina really does come from the Alps. Hence plants at the time were named using a language that was based on the Middle Ages and renaissance-era. And why do Latin plant names matter? (You do not need to italicize family names.) Many names refer to the country or region of origin, either obviously (Cercidiphyllum japonicum, Wisteria sinensis, Hyacinthoides hispanica) or less so. Before Linnaeus (Latinized version of Linne) created the binomial (bi = two and nom = name) system, each plant had several names. Sedum, for example, has now been split into several genera, including Hylotelephium and Rhodiola, as well as Sedum, and the Welsh poppy has been taken out of Meconopsis and put into Papaver (which is actually where Linnaeus had put it in the first place). https://greensideup.ie/how-to-learn-botanical-latin-plant-names So the hybrid of V. farreri andV. :-) Makes it more fun! Genera are basically distinct, recognisable kinds of plant, and in many cases the genus name is also the common name. A plant’s Latin name is the only way to know for certain what you’ll be getting when you buy plants in the spring, as common names vary by region — … But common names have their uses; some are extremely useful in indicating groups of more-or-less related genera, for example brooms, which are found in the genera Cytisus, Genista and Spartium. If the world of plant names interests you, you might enjoy a course or book on botanical Latin. Like this: Quercus rubra. There are plenty of reasons why plant names change, but being wrong, misleading or just plain unpronounceable – as in the case of Paeonia mlokosewitschii, which was named for Polish botanist Ludwik Mlokosiewicz – are not among them. What, if anything, do all these names actually mean? Link to ; facebook; Link to ; twitter; Link to ; pinterest; Link to ; linkedin; In my first post about plant names I attempted to unravel the mysteries of botanical nomenclature. Some useful indicators of habitat include sylvatica (of woods or forests) and palustris (of bogs or marshes), so plants with these names are likely to do well in shade (Luzula sylvatica, woodrush) or wet soil (Caltha palustris, marsh marigold). By Ken Thompson. If you're used to buying our magazine from the shops, Dark Mediterranean planting display with Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’, Small garden tools: the best kit for small gardens, you can now order and receive the next issue delivered to your home, The enchanted gardens of Mothercombe House, Garden design tips: Finding balance in the garden. Don’t accept all names that appear to indicate a plant’s origin at face value – sometimes the authors of names weren’t sure where the plant came from, or the name is simply a mistake. The brilliance of Botanical Latin is that it provides a common language for horticulturists by assigning one name to one plant that is recognized by all. Next to Latin, the Greek language has had the most influence, followed by French and some Italian language derivatives, to form plant names.