If you’ve ever tried to read the scientific name on a plant tag and ended up in a spiral of confusion, be glad you weren’t gardening prior to the 1700s. At that time, polynomials ruled plant taxonomy. Names were made up of descriptive words; there could be one, or as many as ten or more, with some plant names actually forming long sentences.
Thankfully, in the 18th century, Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus came along and said “that’s enough of that”. He introduced the binomial (two-part) naming system, bringing order and simplicity to a system that really had no order. The binomial system was created for animal and plant names, and became the universal standard.
In the world of botany, each plant would be labelled with a genus and a species. He used mostly Latin, since it was the language used at the time in the scientific community, along with some Ancient Greek.
That’s not to say it’s a perfect system today. The botanical names are based on two dead languages, and in the 21st century, most people don’t speak Latin or Ancient Greek. Some (okay, a lot) of the names are daunting to try to read or pronounce.
A case in point: Ornithogalum adseptentrionesvergentulum. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this tiny species of asparagus bulb, found only in South Africa, holds the honour of having the longest botanical name on record. It doesn’t have a common name, but it sure could use one (mind you, outside of its unusual claim to fame, I doubt it gets talked about much).
Using common names: anarchy
Most people are happy and comfortable just using a plant’s common name, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, common names can be a source of confusion too. There could be several common names for the same plant, while some plants don’t have one at all.
Common names for plants originated in different ways; some come from old folklore, some were based on people’s names, and some were regional monikers. Achillea millefolium, most commonly known as yarrow, is a good example of a plant that has multiple common names:
So not only might you have a plant commonly known as “pretty-as-a-picture” in one country and “corpse foot” in another (there could be), even more confusion is lurking. Sometimes, a common name is the same as the botanical name of an entirely unrelated plant. For instance, the annual geranium (botanical name Pelargonium) gets confused with hardy Geranium (common name cranesbill).
So, using the scientific name eliminates confusion: it could only refer to one specific plant, and there’s no mistaking which one you’re talking about.
Using scientific names: there are rules
Scientific names use a hierarchy. Binomial names are comprised of the genus and species; today, there may be a third word in the name (trinomial), which can be either a variety or a cultivar. The order is as follows:
- Genus (the main group comprising plants with similar characteristics)
- Species (the specific epithet—narrowed down further)
- Variety (a variation of the plant occurring in nature)
- Cultivar (a man-made variation—developed in cultivation)
There is a specific way that scientific names are to be written (those rules I mentioned).
Genus always comes first, and is capitalized. The species is next, and is all lower case. Both genus and species are written in italics.
Occasionally, a variety or cultivar will narrow the type of plant down even further. The cultivar is written after the genus and species, is not italicized, and has single quotes around it.
If the plant has a variety, it is written with the genus and species first, both in italics, followed by var. (not italicized), with the variety name last in italics.
If the species is unknown or unspecified, it’s written as sp. (not italicized); if there are multiple unspecified species, it’s written as spp.
For example, if you’re referring to a hydrangea but don’t know the species, it’s written as Hydrangea sp. If you’re referring to multiple unspecified hydrangea species, it would be written as Hydrangea spp.
Common names don’t really follow a lot of rules, and are much more simple—good news for all you anarchists out there. They’re not italicized, and they’re written in lower case, unless the name includes a proper noun (like Japanese maple, or Spanish moss).
Latin: sometimes there are clues in the name
Not all Latin names are as unhinged as the one for the South African asparagus bulb; a lot of them are pretty simple. I can guarantee you already know some botanical Latin, because there are plants whose common name and scientific name is the same. Hosta, hydrangea, iris, and phlox are a few examples.
And for all you non-anarchists who love rules, structure, and order, Latin names deliver on all counts. Besides that, botanical names often carry clues about a plant’s characteristics.
The species name might refer to a colour, such as rubra or rubrum, meaning red. Some examples are Quercus rubra (red oak), Acer rubrum (red maple), and Morus rubra (red mulberry).
The species name could refer to a plant’s country of origin. One example is japonica, meaning the plant originated in Japan, like Fatsia japonica (Japanese aralia), Pieris japonica (Japanese pieris) and Spiraea japonica (Japanese spirea).
The species name could also refer to a plant’s growth habit. The Latin species scandens means “climbing”. Philodendron scandens (heartleaf philodendron), Cobaea scandens (cup and saucer vine), and Maurandya scandens (snapdragon vine) are a few examples of climbing plants.
Other times, the genus is a clue, or even a direct translation. The genus for maple is Acer; one of the Latin meanings is “sharp”, referring to the points of its leaves. The genus for sunflower is Helianthus, with helios meaning “sun”, and anthos meaning “flower”.
Then there are the plants whose common and scientific names are so close you can easily translate them yourself, like rose and Rosa, peony and Paeonia, or tulip and Tulipa.
As Carl Linneaus himself said, “nature does not proceed by leaps and bounds”. Your Latin may not either, but now you know a little more about how botanical names work. I hope deciphering those plant tags just became a little easier.
October 9, 2022
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